Spyros Theodoropoulos: "We are returning to attitudes that led us to the crisis of 2010"

Spiros Theodoropoulos sounded an alarm about the return of the Greek economy to the logics and mentalities that led it to the deep economic crisis of 2010.

The President and CEO of Bespoke SGA Holdings SA, speaking at the "GREECE AFTER VII: Asymmetries and National Agenda" Ideas Circle conference, did not seem to share the -excessively- optimistic sentiment prevailing in the Greek economy, warning of the effects of the observed relaxation.

Commenting on whether the country has addressed the pathologies of the past, Mr. Theodoropoulos did not hide his disappointment, emphasizing that "the uncorrected pathologies are many. We went through a big crisis and unfortunately, we fixed few things compared to what needed to be fixed while we have started to revert to the bad habits of the past".

"Cost reduction has been distanced from the public sector"

In particular, he focused on judicial decisions that restore pensions to pre-crisis levels, public sector enterprises that revert to wastefulness and not reducing costs. "The concept of cost reduction has been distanced from the public sector, and instead, we are talking again about hiring. We stopped talking about transferring employees from surplus areas to other public sector areas where they are needed. We have begun to recreate the same logics and mentalities that led us to 2010," he stated.

Asked to specify the institutional interventions deemed necessary to avoid the pitfalls of the past, Mr. Theodoropoulos stressed that "we do not need new ideas but the implementation of the old ones. We know everything that needs to be done in the country. What we need is the courage to implement them." The example he used was that of the country's legal system, noting pointedly, "We do not suffer from a lack of laws. We suffer from the failure to implement the laws we have already voted on. The same happens in our economy, the same with our reforms."

"We need more and bolder steps"

Mr. Theodoropoulos was clear in his assessment that Greece needs to take more and bolder steps. As he argued, Greece has fallen behind in most of Europe's statistics and must move with greater speed. "We have a government with a unique opportunity in history, essentially having no strong opposition, and we need to move faster in all areas," he noted characteristically.

"Salaries need to increase, but…"

In response to the question of whether salaries are the problem for the competitiveness of the Greek economy and Greek businesses, Mr. Theodoropoulos expressed his disagreement.

"Greece is among the last four countries in terms of average salary. The level of prices that consumers face and the level of average salaries are not well-matched. Let's face it, the truth is that salaries need to rise," he admitted, but added that salaries cannot rise completely unrelated to productivity and living standards. "We need to increase our productivity, increase our salaries, move to new forms of economy, much more productive and efficient," he emphasized.

"We have staff shortages"

Another critical issue for Greek entrepreneurship and production in general is the lack of personnel. Mr. Theodoropoulos acknowledged that there are shortages in both specialized and unskilled personnel. "We have shortages at all levels. A few years ago, we abolished the intermediate technical schools in Greece, with the result that today we do not train in the country - except for some private institutes - mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, or refrigeration technicians."

The threats to the food industry

Continuing his statement, Spyros Theodoropoulos focused on the asymmetric threats to the food industry.

Specifically, he emphasized climate change, describing it as the greatest threat. As he noted, climate change is something that will affect us greatly, and the big problem will come from agriculture, which will be affected the most. Regarding the first product that will show shortages in the next 12 months, he estimated that it will be oranges. As Mr. Theodoropoulos highlighted, "we are already facing the first signs through the excessive price increases of goods" and added that "climate change, agriculture, and food are a chain whose impacts have begun to be seen, and no one knows where we are heading."

Asked to comment on how this issue is being addressed and whether it is a matter of political, economic, entrepreneurial leadership, or a matter of introducing new technologies that can help in this direction, Mr. Theodoropoulos pointed out that technology will help through the creation of greenhouses, protected agriculture, and other methods. However, he noted that none of this is going to solve the problem. "The planet is overheating. America, China, and India are indifferent to the problem, and Europe is left alone to fight to pay for carbon dioxide, to reduce its competitiveness, and to send millions of jobs out of Europe."

It is a complex problem," Mr. Theodoropoulos pointed out and added, "We find ourselves in a very large and difficult environment where, apart from the climate issues, we have businesses trying to cope with geopolitical instabilities and unpredictable phenomena. The rise in interest rates is also a matter that concerns businesses while -especially in Europe- there are not enough people to support production, neither in terms of manual labor nor in terms of specialized personnel."

What he revealed about his business activities

Finally, revealing his next business steps, he announced that he is preparing another investment in the primary sector in Drama as well as significant investments in the industrial sector with the goal of creating a large export group. "We will try to create a strong export company. With the right investments, we will create internationally competitive export products," Mr. Theodoropoulos noted emphatically, concluding his statement.

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