The slogan \u201cthere is money\u201d is being revived as the official campaign slogan for PASOK and ELAS<\/b>.<\/p>\n
The history of the Greek political scene often resembles a poorly written script that repeats itself as a farce, where the past and the present converge in a medley of promises. <\/b><\/p>\n
In recent weeks, reputable market players and economic analysts have been watching with surprise, but also with obvious concern, a peculiar auction of benefits <\/b>that strongly evokes the darkest periods of our post-dictatorship history.<\/p>\n
PASOK, carrying in its DNA the tradition of grand\u2026 gestures,<\/b> and the Hellenic Police (ELAS), the new party of Alexis Tsipras<\/b>, which seems to be dusting off the good old recipes of state generosity<\/b>, have embarked on a race to see who can hand out the most. <\/p>\n
In an effort to charm the electorate, which, though weary, remains vulnerable to the siren song of easy handouts<\/b>, euros are turning into\u2026 lettuce leaves, prompting economic experts to warn of a dangerous resurgence of the infamous \u201cthere is money,\u201d a mindset for which the country paid dearly in the recent past. <\/p>\n
The problem is not the obvious and urgent need to support society, but the way in which these measures are designed and announced. There is no serious cost analysis that stands up to scrutiny, only the rush by some to stay ahead of developments and secure cheap electoral gains for their party coffers.<\/b> However, when promises exceed the country\u2019s actual productive capacity, the outcome is mathematically predetermined.<\/p>\n
The most recent and characteristic arena of this informal battle is the transportation sector. Nikos Androulakis<\/b> kicked things off by pledging universal free access for all young people up to age 24 to public transportation in Athens and Thessaloniki<\/b>, citing it as a low-cost measure with a high social impact.<\/p>\n
The response from Alexis Tsipras\u2019s ELAS party was not long in coming, outbidding him with an even more generous promise of completely free public transportation for all families, arguing that this is a non-negotiable right of the people. <\/p>\n
The market, which operates not on emotion but on hard numbers, is already sending the first warning signs, as serious business leaders see a vacuum\u2026 that threatens the fiscal stability of public transportation operators.<\/p>\n
But the creativity of executives doesn\u2019t stop there, as Tsipras\u2019s new party appears to be investing in the rhetoric of punitive taxation on wealth. ELAS executives, such as Haris Athanasiadis<\/b>, appeared on television to announce a plan to raise 600 million euros annually by taxing \u201cultra-luxurious lifestyles\u201d<\/b>.<\/p>\n
In their effort to make the measure more palatable to the public and win over public opinion, they went so far as to specifically target those who own cars with engines larger than 3,000 cc or those who vacation on private yachts.<\/p>\n
The crescendo of populist rhetoric culminated in public statements by party officials, such as Marizeta Antonopoulou<\/b>, who proposed additional levies on those residing in ultra-luxury apartments or hotels, owning \u201cyachts that go very fast\u201d<\/b> and swimming pools, linking the definition of the ultra-wealthy to the speed of recreational boats.<\/span><\/p>\n What is most striking is the ease with which these positions are articulated in public discourse, without explaining where the funds will come from or what the actual impact on the market will be.<\/p>\n These politicians resemble magicians pulling rabbits out of a hat, assuming that citizens have short memories. But reality is relentless. Every euro they promise so casually, if not accompanied by a corresponding increase in productivity or foreign investment, is a euro that taxpayers will be forced to pay back double after the elections.<\/b><\/p>\n Reputable analysts warn that this tactic creates an illusion of prosperity, which disrupts the market and discourages serious investment initiatives, since no one wants to risk their capital in an environment that\u2026 is governed by the next election\u2019s political expediency.<\/p>\n As we approach the polls, this bidding war is expected to reach its peak, with PASOK and Tsipras\u2019s camp constantly raising the stakes and the scale of their promises, ranging from proposals for a four-day workweek to the creation of public agencies to manage non-performing loans.<\/p>\n The ball is now in the citizens\u2019 court, who are called upon to decide whether to trust once again those who hand out money like lettuce leaves or whether to demand a serious, costed, and responsible proposal for the country\u2019s future. <\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The slogan \u201cThere is money\u201d is making a comeback as the official campaign motto for PASOK and ELAS.We haven\u2019t seen anything yet<\/b><\/h3>\n
\nThe history of the Greek political scene often resembles…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12316,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12315\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}