Stavros Theodorakis insisted on the need for the establishment of a foundation for unaccompanied migrant children so that they can be integrated in the Greek society. As far as the tax issue is concerned, he stressed that “we need a revolutionary, radical simplification of the taxation system, as, the way things are, no one is even able to submit their own income tax statement”. He added that “there will be no entrepreneurship, unless a simple taxation system is established.
“Politics is, in a way, like handicraft. It takes constant, complex and thoroughly studied decisions, in order to improve the living conditions of Greeks,” stated Stavros Theodorakis, in an interview with journalist Anna Mpousdoukou, in SKAI.
Mr Theodorakis pointed out two major facts:
- There are still 360 million euros that could be used in order to tackle youth unemployment. This amount of money has not been absorbed, neither during the governance of New Democracy, nor SYRIZA.
- There are still 12 million dollars that could be used in order to tackle corruption. This amount of money has not been absorbed, neither during the governance of New Democracy, nor SYRIZA.
Stavros Theodorakis pointed out a question that remains unanswered, more specifically “why the railway line in Idomeni remains closed”. He insisted on the need for the establishment of a foundation for unaccompanied migrant children, so that they can be integrated in the Greek society. As far as the tax issue is concerned, he stressed that “we need a revolutionary, radical simplification of the taxation system, as, the way things are, no one is even able to submit their own income tax statement”. He added that “there will be no entrepreneurship, unless a simple taxation system is established”.
“The government keeps ignoring the important dimension of time, when making its decisions. This was the case back in 2015 too, when the banks closed. Mr Tsipras concluded a very bad deal in the summer, while it is now beyond any doubt that the proposed Juncker package was much better. If you are near the edge of the cliff, you end up signing any deal. This is what happened this time too. Mr Tsipras just signed the deal”.
«The right wanted insisted on the need of an automatic brake on state expenditure. The left imposes the sickle. There is a semiotic difference. There is a huge sickle coming to cut off what is sticking out. The fact that our international partners impose a brake or a sickle reveals the inability of the government to actually convince them that they can do what it takes. An effective government should have convinced our European partners, as well as Greeks, that it can take a few, rational measures and, actually, implement them”.
“Having a back-up measure, a back-up Memorandum, on a daily basis – because this is what we are doing – does not contribute in the creation of stable economic conditions. It does not help the society restore its trust”.
“While Greece is signing Memorandums, at the same time, it tumbles outside Europe. We need to agree on taking a few steps. We need to agree on a general restart of the country”.
“We need complex and thoroughly examined solutions, and not horizontal ones, in order to tackle today’s problems. This is where the force or weakness of some policies lies. In complex solutions. The government resorts to drafts. This is major problem”.
“It will take some time before we live a normal summer. There can be no normal summer, with unemployment rising to 25%. There can be no normal summer with the uncertainty prevailing the market, with stores shutting down”.
“I think that there won’t be elections. I believe that Mr Tsipras will try to keep the scenario of elections as distant as possible. But, what really matters is for us to be able to do something for our people. We need to do something, in order to deal with the financial problems that Greeks face, as well as the pathogenies of this country, like corruption”.
Photo credit: Theodore Manolopoulos
