Austerity

New government accepts the need to cut spending and introduce austerity measures - but with elections on the horizon, whether it will dare to do so looks doubtful.

Everyone can understand the difficulties that Greek banks face in managing the jumble of problems they inherited from the long-term economic crisis.

One can also understand the problems that the management of banks face today as they operate in an environment of limited capital, a lack of revenues, and low profitability.

The Social Democratic Party (PSD)'s Executive President Eugen Teodorovici on Thursday expressed "deep disappointment and sorrow" over the fact that Minister of Finance Florin Citu "does not know how to read a budget". In his opinion, Florin Citu held "an attempt of press conference, instead of presenting a situation ten days after taking office".

Chairwoman of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) Viorica Dancila confirmed on Tuesday evening the possibility of PSD lodging, in February next year, a censure motion against the Liberal Government led by Ludovic Orban.

Former leftist foreign minister Giorgos Katrougalos on Wednesday defended the SYRIZA government's tactics in 2015, when Greece came close to a eurozone exit, describing the administration's effort as "heroic."

Referring to the mistakes that led to the derailment of the Greek rescue program, the International Monetary Fund's European department chief Poul Thomsen said during a speech at the London School of Economics on Monday that the previous SYRIZA-led government essentially chose austerity instead of reforms.

The President of the Fiscal Council, Daniel Daianu, recommends postponing new increases of incomes / salaries, stopping the promises that generate unrealistic expectations in citizens and restructuring the state apparatus given that, according to him, the acute deficit of fiscal area is increasingly dangerous.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday discussed the prospects for investments in Greece and Europe's migration problem in their first meeting since the latter was elected, reportedly seeing eye-to-eye on both issues.

Greece has the potential to be the new turnaround story, despite being the last of the so-called PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Spain) to complete its creditor-imposed austerity program, Swiss investment firm Reyl Group says in a report.

On the occasion of the first anniversary of Greece's exiting its third and final austerity program Tuesday, the European Commission urged the country to continue its efforts to put its finances right, lower the still "unacceptably high" unemployment and heal the social fissures that resulted from the lengthy financial crisis.