From the “Thessaloniki program” to “Gr-invest”
Alexis Tsipras pledges one more time for growth and investments at his annual policy speech in the northern city of Thessaloniki.
From its inception in 1926, the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) has been a landmark for the Greek business sector, which explains why it has equally been politically loaded. Always scheduled in early September, it is an event that attracts both public and media attention. The Greek political world has historically used TIF as the platform where the political agenda for the new season is set, first by the government, then followed by the opposition. It was in TIF where Alexis Tsipras, presented the famous “Thessaloniki program” to the Greek voters in 2014, as the then opposition leader. Even if eventually it was never applied, this social democratic proposal is what got SYRIZA elected in January 2015. This year, with Greece approaching the finalization of the 3rd bailout agreement, government and opposition compete fiercely with proposals in the domains of entrepreneurship, long-term investments, and growth. All meant to reassure an audience of investors and business people.
With the acceptance and implementation of austerity by both New Democracy (the main opposition party) and SYRIZA (the largest party of the governing coalition) as part of what Greece must do to quell its long-lasting recession, Prime Minister A. Tsipras and leader of the opposition K. Mitsotakis focus on envisioning a post-memoranda Greece. However, revamping the country will require certain fiscal adjustments and a new investment-friendly legal framework, while new capital needs to be invested in the national economy, so that jobs can be created and citizens can regain some of their lost purchasing power. To procure such funds, both political leaders are trying to attract investors — mostly foreign — who will deposit their money as well as their trust in the Greek economy and in doing so, indirectly to the Greek government. This is why China is the honoured country for the 82nd TIF, with representatives of Chinese business colossi demonstrating a targeted interest for the Greek energy sector.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is trying to persuade investors to establish new business or relocate their existing businesses to Greece. Contradicting his left-wing profile, Tsipras is in the awkward position of dealing with capitalists, welcoming them to Greece, and supporting their work. In the end of August, the prime minister visited the Papastratos tobacco industry, while a week later he toured the premises of cosmetics producer APIVITA. In both visits, Tsipras focused his speech in the good relations between employers and employees in these companies, proclaiming them to be ideal models of “healthy entrepreneurship”.
In the very same week, the Greek prime minister gave a social twist to his pro-business angle when he visited Impact Hub Athens, a co-working space aimed at supporting new young entrepreneurs, whether it’s a startup seeking venture capital or a social enterprise. (AthensLive has been one of those invited). There, Tsipras praised the value system of the social economy, noting that “the keywords here are not ‘competition’ and ‘profit’, but cooperation and social responsiveness.”
The state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron in Athens on the 7th and 8th of September provided the government with an extra boost, both politically and economically. During his visit, Macron expressed his support for Tsipras and the Greek government’s efforts to maintain reform implementation demanded by the country’s creditors. The French President arrived in Athens accompanied by his Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, as well as a number of French businessmen and investors who already own or are interested in establishing business in Greece. Critics say that the French arrived as neo-colonialists who want to buy Greece’s assets at a preferential rate, now that the country is in dire need of investment funds, but the government seems confident that Macron and his businessmen can help Athens face Berlin’s demands.
Under these circumstances, Alexis Tsipras headed to Thessaloniki to launch this year’s TIF and to proclaim how he will put forward his government’s plan for the economic restructuring of Greece. Last Saturday (September 9) the PM described the importance of creating new jobs and claimed that the government is doing everything possible to secure the positions of current employees as well as respectable working conditions. This is directly linked to the new labour legislation approved by the Greek parliament on 7 September, which mainly aims at tackling the issues faced by those employees who work without health insurance or benefits.
On the other hand, there is Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the leader of the main opposition party, New Democracy. He is in favour of neoliberal reforms in labour legislation and projects his party as the only possible guarantor for the business sector’s money. Mitsotakis capitalizes on the internal debate in SYRIZA on the topic of supporting big investments, directly suggesting that the governmental party’s inherent ideology constitutes a direct obstacle to the attraction of investors.
New Democracy’s rhetoric claims that Prime Minister Tsipras is not a trustworthy partner for people who want to stake their money in the Greek economy and that “growth will only come after political change”. They accuse the government of heavy business taxation and they avow to bring about a hefty tax reduction on business profits from 29% to 20%, to be implemented over a two-year period. Moreover, Mitsotakis proposes the reduction of employment-associated costs, a point on which he receives heavy criticism, mainly from the left, who compare his policy proposals to Margaret Thatcher’s neoliberal reforms.
In an effort to distinguish his party’s positions from the interests of big business, Mitsotakis clarified that once in government, New Democracy “will be strict with everyone who is deviating from what we call ‘healthy entrepreneurship’.” In the same speech, the opposition leader also maintained that his party does not distinguish between employers and employees, but regards the business sector as a whole. Finally, in a meeting that he held with the Union of Greek Banks on September 6, Mitsotakis invited the bankers to issue new loans to cash flow strapped businesses, while reiterating the necessity of a fiscal policy change that will include tax reductions.
With opinion polls showing New Democracy consistently ahead of SYRIZA in the case of a snap election, Mitsotakis will appear in TIF with the confidence that the likelihood of a decisive victory in the next election grants him. In his main address to the annual trade fair on Saturday September 16, Mitsotakis is expected to present his governmental programme in detail, with a primary focus on the economy and the importance of attracting new investments to Greece, the two fields in which he believes New Democracy has a comparative advantage over SYRIZA. Mitsotakis, who has actively pursued the image of a moderate liberal politician, is expected to avoid making any big pledges such as those which he has persistently labelled as populism, with the example of Tsipras’ promises in 2014 still fresh in Greek public discourse.
Tsipras attempts to convince of his ability to attract investments despite his leftist, anti-big business rhetoric. On Monday, Canadian gold-mining company Eldorado Gold announced the halting of its controversial gold extraction project in Chalkidiki, reigniting its feud with SYRIZA. The government has addressed the issue to a binding arbitration court that will decide on the licences of the extraction plan, which has been repeatedly blamed for immense environmental damage. The opposition suggests that in the event of cancellation, investors will think twice before funding any investment in Greece.
In the context that the TIF provides, Tsipras and Mitsotakis are in for a face-off on a stage where the opposition leader certainly feels more comfortably, as the business sector has always been a fertile ground for the Greek right wing. Will Tsipras’ pro-business shift suffice to change that? The winner of this debate remains to be seen. Predominantly, both leaders will have to address a paramount question: how will the Greek people become the benefactors of the growth that investments might bring?
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