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Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Athens Mayor Optimistic About Economic Recovery

Speaking to Spanish radio station “Ondra Cero,” Athens mayor Giorgos Kaminis said that the city is on the path to economic recovery and that unemployment figures are deceptive because employment has been replaced by unregistered employment. The Greek mayor said that after six years of recession, things look a little brighter now because more people go out and stay out until late at night. However, he admitted that more people go to soup kitchens now and don’t seem to be ashamed of it. He said that it is an exaggeration to call an economic crisis, a humanitarian crisis. Regarding the homeless in Athens, he said that at the moment there approximately 1,000 to 1,500, but most of them are illegal immigrants, not victims of the economic crisis. Speaking about unemployment, Kaminis said he believes that every person who loses his registered job, finds another job, getting paid under the table. On the issue of Golden Dawn and their presence in the city, the mayor said that ever since the party chiefs were arrested, Golden Dawn members have stopped their criminal activities and their presence in the city is hardly felt. As for the presence of extreme right-wingers in the police force, Kaminis said that many policemen, worldwide, belong to the far-right, but they remain a minority. Kaminis was also critical of the Greek government and the measures the Troika of international lenders demand. He said that Greece has failed to privatize more organizations and increase competitiveness, as it remains under the rules of an oligarchy and slave to monopolies. He said that Greece is left behind in terms of true economic development.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com