The Ancient Greeks said that "ç áñ÷Þ åßíáé ôï Þìéóõ ôïõ ðáíôüò", or "well begun is half done". But modern Greeks are fully aware that we are not out of the woods yet. We definitely have our work still cut out for us.
The psychological factor remains of major importance. We must continue confronting the problems and promoting reforms in all seriousness – and this must be made visible to everyone, particularly in the international arena. This is the only way to generate the trust needed, almost on a daily basis, with the world markets and, most importantly, with our own citizens, without whom nothing can be achieved.
We have the heart to will both the ends and the means. We want our record not only to reflect, but actually to exceed our language. To fully convince the international markets that Greece means business, we are now determined to focus, in the next few months, on those reforms that will allow the country to fulfill its potential and to soon claw its way back on the path to long-term stability and growth.
Our plan is to make maximum capital of our comparative advantages: renewable energy sources, like solar and wind energy, green development, shipping, tourism, our cultural heritage, organic agriculture, our Mediterranean diet, to mention but the better-known ones.
And let me tell you that more much-needed reforms are in the offing. We are bent on continuing to weed out restrictive practices that distort the market. Red tape for business startups will be drastically cut – we are introducing the "one-stop-shop" and a "fast track" licensing procedure for strategic foreign investments in Greece
Inducements and incentives are being created to increase investments in emerging markets, such as research and technology and renewable energy. Even when it comes to our "heavy industry", tourism, we are determined to make a better job of promoting the many features that Greece has to offer beyond the beautiful sunny beaches and the spectacular ancient monuments: arts festivals, wine routes, gastronomy, rafting, canoeing, scuba diving, rock climbing. I know you take your vacations seriously. Greece will never disappoint you if you plan to visit – and please do so. You are wholeheartedly invited.
Another major objective is to attract foreign investment. There are already many encouraging signs in this regard. China, Qatar, Russia, Norway, Turkey, Middle Eastern countries have recently expressed tangible interest in promoting business interests in Greece.
Greece has many unique advantages. We are not an isolated economy. Greece is not only a core member of the European Union. We are geopolitically and economically linked to emerging economies to the east, north and south, from Turkey to the Middle East, from the Black Sea to the Balkans. China has recognized our strategic advantages and chosen to invest in the Athenian port of Piraeus, as a hub for all its exports to Europe.
On this score, Prime Minister George Papandreou is personally involved in shoring up involvement, in the Greek market, by successful businesses owned by Greeks living abroad, including the very prosperous members of the Greek-American community.
And the successes – I think you can attest to this – of the Greek American community in so many different fields, whether it's Hollywood, Silicon Valley, academia and the East Coast, this just shows the entrepreneurial spirit but also the dynamism of the Greek people.
At this point, I would like to extent my appreciation and thank all those Greek-Americans, and our Greek-American community as a whole, for the solidarity and support already shown to our «ðáôñßäá», our home-country Greece. And may I proudly reveal to you that I myself am part of the Greek diaspora, having been born in Cyprus, having been raised and having spent most of my life abroad.
So I know very well myself the feelings of pride, but sometimes also the feelings of disappointment, even anger about some developments – negative developments – in our country. Greeks are fed up with all politicians. A range of government policies since the end of dictatorship in 1974 have made them feel powerless and betrayed by a centralized kleptocracy that claims to know what is good for them better than they do themselves. The welfare Graecokleptocracy has created not a feeling of security but a culture of dependency on crumbs and sinecures and a loss of responsibility. The all-powerful 300 Graecokleptocrats are willing to say anything to fool Greeks and do anything to get kickbacks.
Basil Venitis, twitter.com/Venitis, points out that for 35 years since dictatorship, Pasokleptocrats and Neodemokleptocrats who took turns in running Greece, the most corrupt country on Earth, borrowed as if there were no tomorrow, and they received 200 billion euros in kickbacks from Siemens, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, MAN, Daimler, Deutsche Bahn, Ferrostaal, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, antitrust, military purchases, monasteries, and many more. Through mismanagement, robbery, kickbacks, and nepotism, they drove the cradle of democracy to the brink of bankruptcy with a public debt of 350 billion euros.
Michael Christoforakos, the former president of Siemens Hellas, set a videocamera in his Siemens office, producing DVDs starring 200 Graecokleptocrats, kept at two public notaries. Christoforakos has the tiptop Greek politicians on DVD kowtowing to him for more kickbacks in exchange for lucrative overpriced contracts! The DVDs prove that Premier Costas Simitis, 10 ministers, and 80 MPs of Pasok, Premier Costas Caramanlis, 8 ministers, and 75 MPs of Nea Democratia, and 20 journalists shared two billion euros of kickbacks. Christoforakos, who now lives in Munich, identified John Bartholomew of Nea Democratia and Costas Geitonas of Pasok as the coordinators of kickbacks. Siemens set aside 10% of the revenue it received from state contracts to pay off Nea Democratia and Pasok as part of a bribery system that ran from 1975 to 2007.
Venitis asserts the huge Greek debt is not due to spending, but robbing! It's not fair for poor Greeks to pay this debt, but for Graecokleptocrats to return the loot, mission impossible. That's why Greeks revolt against 300 Graecokleptocrats with bombs, molotovs, guns, strikes, and riots! Many revolutionary groups try to overthrow Graecokleptocrats and hang them in front of the Greek Parliament! Most Greeks pray now for a coup!
No Graecokleptocrat has ever gone to jail! Venitis asserts that impunity of the 300 Graecokleptocrats is the most freakish justice in the world! The most infamous house on Earth is the Greek Parliament, aka the Grand Brothel on Syntagma Square, which houses 300 wild prostitutes, minotaurs that suck the blood of Greeks! It's a long way from the 300 Spartans of Leonidas to the 300 Graecokleptocrats of the Grand Brothel! Allons enfants de la Grece!
Returning the loot is hard to do. 300 Untouchable Graecokleptocrats, the most corrupt politicians on Earth, those freaks that enjoy absolute impunity, assert they will never return the 200 billion euros they robbed from the Greek treasury, kickbacks, and churning the nest eggs of poor workers! The loot is safely deposited in secret offshore accounts, and it's very hard to trace it.
Greeks now demand the confiscation of all assets belonging to Graecokleptocrats, in order to ensure the repayment of the debt which Graecokleptocrats have admittedly caused, by inventing parliamentary immunity. All present and past MPs since 1975 should be examined for all unlawful and criminal actions taken against the assets of the Greek State, including those which have expired under the statute of limitations, in order for justice, truth, and transparency to be reinstated in Greece. Let it be.
But this is changing – I can guarantee this to you. Greece is changing, into the very positive direction. Once people are convinced that there is no way back to current reforms and that we will not go off course, you will see many top notch businesspeople investing in Greece. And we are now witnessing the first signs that we are turning the corner.
Few days ago, in the margins of the UNGA in New York, we have signed an MOU with Qatar which lay the groundwork for investments in the amount of more than 5 billion euros. A few weeks ago the National Bank, the largest commercial bank of Greece, went onto the markets for recapitalization, and the response was more than positive. Norway's state pension fund recently invested in Greek bonds, an important vote of confidence from the world's second biggest sovereign wealth fund.
Let me now highlight a very important point. Greece and her economy do not operate in a vacuum. Greece stands at a crucial geostrategic crossroads, which makes her an ideal platform from which to expand business interests from Turkey to the Balkans, from the Black Sea to the Middle East. Our unique geographical location dictates that we persevere in the fundamental principles of our foreign policy.
Our neighborhood has never been known as an oasis of stability – rather, historical images of powder-kegs abound. In her dealings with her neighbors, Greece lays constant emphasis on good-neighborly relations, regional cooperation, and focusing on the so many issues that unite us.
Papandreou and myself have spared no effort to strengthen Greece's relations with Turkey. We are strategic partners with the US also on this issue, in that we both stand firmly behind Turkey's full EU membership, provided of course she meets the EU criteria for accession. We fully support the efforts of President Christophias to reach a fair and, most importantly, viable solution to the long-standing division of Cyprus.
We have made repeatedly clear our readiness to conclude a just and equally viable agreement over the name of our northern neighbor, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. We have taken concrete steps to ensure that there is still momentum for the European perspectives of the Western Balkans countries.
We are active in the Middle East. While we continue to nurture our traditional friendship with the Arab countries, the deepening and widening of Greek-Israeli relations serve mutual strategic interests and reflect our common vision for regional stability.
Greece is also a long-standing member of the European Union. Here again, I am proud to say that, in responding to the recent crisis, not only Greece did confound her critics and exceed expectations – but also Europe and our common currency, the euro. The EU is now stronger and more united, robust and transparent.
Based on the lessons-learnt from the crisis, the Union, too, has taken decisive steps to establish safer and sounder mechanisms of financial governance. Tighter oversight has been established of national budgets. Furthermore, greater transparency is being enforced in the financial sector, to ward off the danger of the recurrence of past weaknesses. Under new EU rules, banks are required to store more capital and ensure adequate lending flowing to the real economy.
Hedge funds, derivatives and credit default swaps were rightly seen by many as being a main reason for the recent crisis. Indeed, as a financial means, they have often been abused, since investors in so-called "naked swaps" have no direct interest in a country's economy, other than seeing it go down in a vicious circle of self-fulfilling prophecy, based on a growing perception of seriously increased risks, which in turn can lead to higher borrowing costs.
Again, under new EU regulations, they will be subject to closer scrutiny, so as to prevent reckless risk taking. If the Greek crisis was a wakeup call for Europe, it should also serve as a wakeup call to the rest of the world. Greece is surely not alone in the challenges we face, nor in the solutions we must seek.
I will conclude with another famous Ancient Greek quote: "ôá áãáèÜ êüðïéò êôþíôáé" – "success is dependent on effort". The bleak outlook has given way to much-improved auguries. Greece is a different country today and it continues and will continue to be changing.
We will sustain the effort, because we owe it to the sacrifices of the Greek people. The Greek government, our government, will never waver from the course that it has charted to make the country take a turn for the better. Greece deserves a style of management and governance that are worthy of her long history and in line with her current potential. We will continue to provide that. We are determined and we will make Greece a flagship of success.
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