By V. Vegiri
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras appeared optimistic over the course of the still recession-bedeviled Greek economy, speaking on Sunday during the first weekend of an annual trade exhibition in Thessaloniki.
Tsipras’ optimism was mostly entailed in what he predicted will be a successful conclusion of the second review of the Greek program (third bailout) and whatever short-term debt relief measures offered by creditors.
In looking to the future and after dismissing any notion of early elections, Tsipras avoided ticking off a “laundry list” of promises and pledges, something that he engaged in during previous addresses and press conferences at the same venue.
His only timid promise this year was possible cuts in business and personal income taxes, but only after two years.
Other “highlights” in Tsipras’ comments over the weekend included:
– A freeze on insurance fund contributions
– Incentives for businesses focusing on “competitive” sectors of the economy
– Allowing businesses the right to have one bank account for paying suppliers, their payroll, taxes and contribution to the social security fund that is protected from seizures by third parties
– Possible tax breaks, but after revenue and growth targets are judged after 2017 and 2018
– Support for privatizations, but “ones in defense of the public good”, as he put it
– Support for the privatization of the port of Thessaloniki, but in a more indirect manner, as he referred to the need for “realistic goals at the level of binding investments”
– Opposition to the sale of majority stakes in the two major water and sewerage companies
– “We hope it will be followed, in total” when asked about the EU-Turkey migrant readmission protocol
He praised Angela Merkel’s stance vis-à-vis the refugee crisis and other countries’ closed-border policy
