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Πέμπτη, 09 Ιουνίου 2016 13:17

ND leader Mitsotakis: Greek govt's failed negotiations sliced 21 bln euros off GDP

Main opposition New Democracy (ND) party leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday emphasized that the current leftist government will not implement reforms necessary for the country, “because, deep down, it is opposed to entrepreneurship, which is not compatible with its political DNA.”

Main opposition New Democracy (ND) party leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday emphasized that the current leftist government will not implement reforms necessary for the country, “because, deep down, it is opposed to entrepreneurship, which is not compatible with its political DNA.”

The ND president and former minister spoke at a “Naftemporiki”-sponsored business conference in Athens.

“Everyone believes that more (austerity) measures will be necessary, and the activation of the ‘cutter’ is considered a given,” he said, referring to an automatic spending cut mechanism passed last month in Parliament by a slim majority of MPs backing the coalition government.

The mechanism, dubbed as the "cutter" by the local media and political opposition, was a demand by institutional creditors that the government initially opposed, only to finally include it in ratified legislation.

Mitsotakis also charged that the SYRIZA-led government’s negotiation strategy delayed the completion of the first review of the Greek program (third bailout), a negative development that cost a loss to GDP of 21 billion euros.