July 22, 2019

Andrew Campbell 

On July 20, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greek prime minister now, announced to lower property tax by an average 22% this year but under the premise of completely following Athens’ agreement with its international lenders.

Reducing income tax and business profits tax will be quickly included in his policy; he vowed to make Europeans surprised at Greece.

Although Klaus Regling, the eurozone's rescue fund head, would like to trust Mitsotakis' policy, he was worried about Greek revenue and public debt. Former premier Alexis Tsipras advised Mitsotakis to avoid privatization; however, Mitsotakis had his own plan.

Another reason for Mitsotakis’ confidence of reviving Greece is the getting better relationship with the USA. Since Tsipras’ regime, Greece has been willing to spend 2% of GDP on defense to meet the NATO target and buy 84 F-16s from the USA. Besides, Seahawk helicopters and liquefied natural gas (LNG) were imported from the USA.

Furthermore, Greece has built up good relationship with Israel and Cyprus in the past ten years. No wonder Mike Pompeo, U.S. Secretary of State, appeared at the meeting in Beersheba, Israel last December, which brought together the important leaders of Greece, Israel and Cyprus. Turkey’s growth is therefore no more an absolute threat to Greece.

Photo:Webshot.