RND: The Greek economy is leaving behind the recession of the pandemic

The expectations from the new Chancellor Olaf Solz as well as an article on the impressive recovery of the Greek economy are the topics of the press review.

“It was as if Olaf Solz was suddenly in his first term as chancellor,” she said. Southgerman newspaper entitled “Let ‘s dare more Willy Brandt” paraphrasing the extremely bold, for 1969, saying of the former Social Democrat chancellor “let’ s dare more Democracy”.

The Munich newspaper notes: “Where we have long waited for Olaf Soltz to take a stand, such as on the pandemic, he has not done so. Just a few days ago, however, at a meeting between the federal government and the states on the pandemic, it became clear that his primary goal was to tackle the coronavirus. “Now he has to set the guidelines. In a few days he will have to prove that he is worth it. It remains open, for example, whether the goal of vaccinating 30 million people in Germany by Christmas will be achieved.”

“Chancellor for the World Economy”

“Like the predecessors of Helmut Schmidt and Gerhard Schroeder, Olaf Soltz should become a chancellor of the economy and much more of the world economy,” she said. Handelsblatt entitled “Chancellor for the world economy”, obviously meaning that the main concern of the new chancellor should be the German and especially the world economy.

The Düsseldorf newspaper notes: “The pandemic is still overshadowing all the major challenges. But in the near future, economic issues will require urgent solutions. Such as the issue of inflation. “In the US, the Federal Reserve and the Secretary of the Treasury deleted the word temporary. The ECB is still hesitant.”

“Greek economy leaves behind the pandemic recession”

“Greece has already managed to balance the economic losses of the pandemic. In the third quarter, GDP reached almost 46.5 billion euros, while compared to 2019, the year before the pandemic crisis, it reached 46 billion euros,” he said in a response from Athens German News Network RND. On the network’s website we read with the title: “The Greek economy leaves behind the recession of the pandemic”:

“Growth in the July-September quarter is due to the comeback of tourism. In 2020, foreign tourists fell from 33 million to 7 million due to a pandemic. But in the third quarter of 2021, tourism revenues increased by 85%. At the same time, exports of products grew by 9.2%, while private investment increased by 18.1% compared to the second quarter.

Greece benefits not only from tourism development, but also from structural reforms. These include privatization, the digitization of public administration, labor market and pension reform, and tax breaks. The reforms were praised by the new German Minister of Finance Christian Lindner, speaking of the “impressive reform policy” of the Greek government with a role model for Germany. Lindner’s oral recognition probably surprised many in Greece. Politicians, as well as the public, have so far viewed the Liberal president with suspicion, who is considered a supporter of a tough line in the budget. At the height of the Greek economic crisis, he had blamed the then Minister of Finance, Wolfgang Schieble, for being too lenient with Athens, demanding that Greece be expelled from the euro. However, the climate seems to have changed: “Now Christian Lindner considers Greece a source of inspiration for Germany.”

Stefanos Georgakopoulos

SOURCE: Deutsche Welle