Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis was due to deliver his keynote speech on Saturday September 5 at the Thessaloniki international Fair. It is normally the most important scheduled speech the PM delivers, announcing economic and social policy for the coming year.
This time it is also the inaugural speech of an election campaign for a third term, and comes as the worst international financial crisis in 70 years really begins to bite into the Greek economy.
Given these circumstances, the speech outline distributed by his office is disappointing. Rather than unrolling a platform of new initiatives to stimulate the economy, send green projects into hyper-drive, protect the environment and bring the expensive deficit under control, Karamanlis is largely repeating last week's speeches.
Karamanlis plans to summarise his policy successes and predict a difficult two years ahead. He will repeat the three-pronged recovery strategy announced on September 2, namely reducing public spending, collecting due taxes and making structural changes to the economy. This will leave reporters only the Sunday morning press conference to glean more policy specifics in these critical areas.
I am trying to follow the current "debates" between the two major parties, and I always stumble upon the same brick wall of nonsense made up of wishful thinking, vague visions, and nothing specific, nothing to bind either party to a specific policy that could solve a specific problem. My conclusion is that they suffer from the inwardnes disease and have lost connection to the real problems and the real people of this land.
ReplyDeletewell, that speech sure was NOT a disappointment!!!
ReplyDeletemust have been the best of his career, and offered great challenges to a greater future.
caroles
Unfortunately the only people that will win in the next election are the interior designers and decorators of the all new offices of the newly elected officals. Nothing changes except the furniture and the drapes. Positively shameful
ReplyDelete