Is Greece becoming a financial Hulk? 

Dear reader,

This is our weekly round-up from Greece.

In the aftermath of the Greek 21 May elections, some international publications applauded the result, claiming the country is now back to normal. There is ample evidence, however, that under ND governance, the democratic deficit has been exacerbated.

On the other hand, certain analysts suggest that if you scratch under the surface of Greece’s ‘financial bounceback’, you will find an economy with grave structural problems hardly changed. Professor Lapavitsas did an interesting analysis of this - and why this type of economy circumstantially pushed ND to victory.        

ND seems to have embarked on a campaign to keep the extreme right-wing Niki party out of Parliament. The Church has denounced claims that it supports this party, and PM Mitsotakis is paying a visit to Mount Athos - not a coincidence. Plus, nine far right-wing parties banned from running in the previous elections are allied now under the name ‘Patriotic Coalition.’  

Is Greece becoming a financial Hulk?

“Greece, in short, has become a normal country, not a worry”: This is the Economist’s conclusion (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) on the aftermath of the Greek elections, a ‘success’ attributed to PM Mitsotakis. “Over the past four years, he has governed, for the most part, with energy and skill. The economy has bounced back better than most from the disasters of covid-19 and the energy-price shock; its growth rate last year was around twice the euro-zone average, and is forecast to exceed it comfortably this year too,” the publication explains among others. It recognizes only “three bug blots”: the Wiretapping scandal, mistreatment of migrants at the border and “corrupt public services” that led to the train crash.  

We think Greece is becoming increasingly normal. Unless ‘normality’ is defined only by financial indicators (that do not mirror the financial situation of the majority of the population) and not by democratic standards.

Other well-respected international media followed suit. “Once Europe’s Headache, Greece Finds Its Feet,” the Wall Street Journal report (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) was entitled.

“Ahead of elections, doubts on country's euro membership have gone away,” it added. “Voters credited Mr. Mitsotakis for Greece’s economic gains in the four years since he took office. The economy returned to its size in 2010 when its protracted economic crisis began, and unemployment fell sharply. This offered political inoculation against a corruption scandal New Democracy rivals tried to exploit.”

(“A” corruption scandal? It was instead a series of them.) Al Jazeera was along the same line: “How did Greece go from bankruptcy to economic growth?” they wondered whether the Greeks felt the results.