Time to compromise

The current levels of taxes and social security contributions that businesses and individuals are expected to pay in this country are unsustainable.

Greece is barely competitive and, to make matters worse, it is not able to present itself as an attractive option for thousands of more dynamic young people who are forced to move abroad in order to work and survive, a problem that will have dire consequences in the long term.

There are two fundamental things that have to change: To start with, this country needs a government that will apply a reform-minded shock therapy, as it were, and at the same time introduce significant cuts in state spending. At the same time, Greece’s international lenders must face the fact that their primary surplus targets are extraordinary, almost brutal.

Only a major compromise of this nature can unlock the debt-burdened country’s true potential and allow its businesses and people to thrive.