Both they would agree that when a system relies for too long on extensive borrowing to make a living, at some point comes the time when imbalances, deficits as well as ‘extra cash needs’ (e.g. Olympics 2004, repetitive elections, etc.) cause the system to suffocate; things are worse when the system is already severely structurally flawed.

The phenomenon is not new in Greece. Greeks, due to a peculiar sense of individualism, are used to live in the sidelines of legality, sustain distortions and serve each other’s petty interests; suddenly, when the shit hits the fan, they resort to law books to assess wrongdoings of those who were found standing when the music stopped or had failed to secure sound political backup.

In the case of 2013 Greece, what’s done is done. The blame game’s only significance is when citizens approach the polls. What is really needed – and perhaps what citizens need to rely on to move forward – is strong political will to codify the crisis rhetoric in terms of the future; it requires thinking what is necessary to exit the vicious cycle of indecisiveness and misery, maintaining, at the same time, the decency of the Greek people.

To start looking ahead (and most importantly to start exploring the advantages of the country) needs to first to put things in order. Some key areas –that, perhaps, would satisfy most mainstream political trends- could be the following:

1) Protection of national sovereignty (land and sea borders, ownership of natural resources).

2) Fiscal efficiency – we should stop consuming more than what we produce.

3) Production of new wealth in a socially responsible way.

4) Preservation and development of social capital to secure sustainability of all the above.

These four simple concepts (homeland, fiscal balance, sustainability, people) require a new philosophy towards life as well as long-term planning and continuous innovation. Before those, however, some positive shocks could come in handy.

A couple of months ago, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras shyly mumbled a figure: 15% corporate flat tax for all entrepreneurial activity. Well, it is not like inventing the wheel, since many countries with fewer problems have introduced it as an incentive to attract FDIs, but it could definitely be a positive sign for companies already operating in the country. Well, for new ones to arrive, Samaras would have to voice more meaningful points such as: simplification of the process for the creation of new companies; online company register; cutting down red tape; eGov services etc. And guess what: voicing these may not be enough anymore; turning it into practice and presenting some real success stories would do the trick.

In my mind, this is the key weakness of the ‘success story’ Maximos Mansion’s staffers are trying to spin to desperate Greek media; these guys some times look like retired wizards who are trying to learn new tricks. The attempt to assign the ‘Grecovery’ to the country as a whole is a stupid shortcut that leads nowhere; what’s more, it seems to jeopardise any positive results secured by Greek people’s sacrifices so far. In modern times, the ‘phoenix’, in order to rise again needs a little bit more than magic and national wishful thinking; for instance, it requires sound management, across the board utilization of digital means and renouncement of partisanship from the handling of state affairs. I doubt that they have anything to communicate in these fields…

To inspire ‘Grecovery’, the government needs some political R&D towards two directions: first, real life solutions and second, communications. No matter what it is commonly argued, the country cannot exit the crisis without state of the art communication strategies and practices that will keep Greek people informed and foreign investors motivated.

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said some time ago: “…Despite the signs that the worst of the financial crisis is now behind us, despite these modest green shoots, there is still a long way to go to restore our growth prospects, to revive our economies, to heal our banking systems, to create more jobs and to improve welfare across our union. We need to remember that the economy reacts with a time lag: once stability is back, it takes time before this is translated into more confidence, more investment and growth and jobs. And as growth returns, it takes time before the positive impact on employment starts kicking in…”

To this direction, Greece would require a lot more than old-time wizards constructing ‘success stories’ out of thin air, or political mumblings of coalition partners who have lost their role in contemporary politics.

Dr. Demetris Kamaras is the Editor of alyunaniya.com

Samaras has requested regular updates by FinMin Yannis Stournaras on the implementation of the VAT reduction in food.

Restaurants and other catering outlets that pass on a recently agreed VAT reduction to consumers will receive a special sign that they can display to customers from the associations to which they belong.

This was decided during a meeting between Development Minister Costis Hatzidakis, restaurant owners, the Hellenic Confederation of Professionals, Craftsment and Merchants (GSEVEE) and the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE), AMNA informs.

The finance ministry’s general secretary for revenues Haris Theoharis also left open the possibility of adopting a SETE proposal calling for the 24-hour closure of any business failing to issue receipts.

The system proposed is based on the French model adopted after a similar VAT rate cut in 2009. Under this, the various business associations will award the enterprises wanting to participate in the system with a special sign certifying that they have revised their prices to incorporate the VAT reduction and pass gains on to consumers. A separate sign of a different colour will be handed out to those businesses that only partially pass the VAT cut to their customers.

The Premier has also prioritized tourism, public administration, taxation, outstanding debts, health (insurance funds and EOPYY) and education.

What lies ahead is Samaras’ visit to Washington in August, during which the Premier will have the opportunity to discuss with US President Barrack Obama a number of international matters, such as Cyprus and the naming dispute with FYROM.

Maximos Mansion sources argue that despite the crisis, Greece has managed to increase its standing, in part thanks to the developments in energy, such as the singing of the TAP pipeline and the search for hydrocarbons.

The Prime Minister is also hoping on the positive messages from the recent visit by US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew. The Greek side hopes that the PM’s visit to Washington will attract investments.

“We made very good progress,” Poul Thomsen, head of the IMF’s mission to Greece told reporters yesterday, adding that he hoped talks would be concluded early today, before the Eurogroup meeting of finance ministers.

Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras also said he was optimistic of a deal on Monday morning. The two sides were due to leave Athens yesterday, but could remain in touch to nail down final details, Reuters informs.

Government sources have suggested that the troika is in a position to complete its review of the adjustment programme and allow Eurozone finance ministers to decide later today whether to release another EUR 8.1 billion of bailout funding.

According to Kathimerini, a deal seems to have been clinched after the troika inspectors accepted Administrative Reform Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ plans for completing a labour mobility scheme involving 12,500 civil servants.

However, Mitsotakis had to agree in return that the programme would run for eight months rather than 12. It appears that as a result of agreeing to shorten the duration of the scheme, Mitsotakis will be allowed until the end of September to identify all 12,500 public sector workers who will be transferred to other positions.

“It is sealed, there will not be any more meetings regarding the public sector,” Mitsotakis said on Saturday afternoon. “All that is left is for the Eurogroup to give its approval.”

According to sources, 5,000 of those who will be included in the programme will be local authority employees, including school crossing guards and cleaners. Some 3,500 municipal police officers will also be added. They will undergo an evaluation and for every one that is transferred to the main police force, another three will be dismissed. Another 2,000 employees are to come from the education sector, while ministry personnel will also be added once the restructuring of government departments is completed.

The two sides also appear to have reached an agreement over a supposed funding gap of about EUR 2 billion for this year and next. The Greek government said that it would “claw back” much of the overspending at healthcare provider EOPYY by forcing private clinics that worked with the public organization to accept reduced payments.

There were also reports that the troika agreed to the seasonal reduction of value-added tax in the food service sector from 23 to 13 percent in return for a rise in tax on luxury goods.

The next tranche of international aid for Greece could be split into installments, EU commissioner Olli Rehn said, holding out the prospect of a continued hand-to-mouth existence for Greece that threatens to stifle its economy.

According to media reports, Rehn confirmed what many officials have expressed privately amid growing frustration with Athens’ slow pace of reform, namely, that the tranche could be split into several installments.

According to protothema.gr, it seems there is progress in all aspects of negotiation with the troika, while the reference to a “political agreement” by FInMin Yannis Stournaras means that despite the progress made and the distance traveled by the two sides the full agreement is still pending. However, as a government member said, “Troika will show flexibility to not ruin the deal.”

“We are going towards a political agreement on Monday,” Stournaras said.

The difference on the issue of redundancies and the mobility programme cannot be covered since according to the previous agreement the Greek government should have proceeded to 2,000 layoffs by the end of June as well as speeding up the mobility programme in the public sector. Troika is not convinced for the collection of property tax either despite the arguments of the Greek side.

Government said that delays to the transfer issue of civil servants is due to the previous minister, who resigned and that they will now move the programme faster.

Discussions will continue until Sunday, although the main points of the agreement should be found until the end of the day today [Friday], in order for the Commission to be prepared for the recommendation to the Council of Finance Ministers.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Administrative Reform Minister, speaking to reporters, said “we will be ready on Monday”, adding it was necessary to have a deal on the issue of the public sector. “Let me tell you categorically that there is no issue of raising the number of dismissals, beyond the 15,000 agreed by the government,” Mitsotakis added.

The cabinet reshuffle comes two days after junior coalition Democratic Left partner pulled out in protest over the sudden closure of state broadcaster ERT, downsizing the ruling majority in parliament.

According to an announcement by government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras kept his post in the cabinet reshuffle while socialist PASOK party Evangelos Venizelos assumed the posts of deputy prime minister and foreign minister. Outgoing foreign minister Dimitris Avramopoulos  assumed the post of Minister of Defense.

The two-party coalition government now has a slender majority in parliament; it controls 153 seats of the 300 seats.

The number of ministries in Samaras’ cabinet was increased from 17 to 19.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras sparked a crisis when he decided to abruptly shut down state broadcaster ERT on June 11, which is part of the Greek government’s unpopular austerity measures.

Meanwhile, the nearly 2,700 suspended staff at ERT have continued demonstrations in front of the main broadcaster center in Athens and offices in the northern port city of Thessaloniki.

The Greek government claimed ERT had become a haven of waste. ERT began broadcasting in 1938, running three domestic TV channels, four national radio stations, as well as regional radio stations and an external service, Voice of Greece.

The new cabinet is due to be sworn in Tuesday morning by President Karolos Papoulias during a ceremony at the presidential palace.

The meeting between the three leaders is rather important, despite the government downplaying it as a routine meeting, tovima.gr writes. Both Venizelos and Kouvelis have been demanding they have a greater influence on the way the government operates, to remind Samaras that New Democracy is not governing on its own.

PASOK and DIMAR officers have openly criticized the government for failing to inform them on decisions being made. The Prime Minister will likely pursue some sort of compromise and truce, in order to find a golden balance that will maintain the calm atmosphere that is necessary to push forward the reforms.

The government leaders will also discuss the goals of the government and the action plan to prepare for the troika visit in the summer, such as the tax bill, dismissals from the public sector, deregulations, privatizations etc. Experienced government officers claim that despite the distance of opinion, the government’s cohesion and determination are not at risk.

The International Monetary Fund will send a team to Greece early next month for talks with Greek authorities and the IMF’s bailout partners, following a meeting of the IMF executive board to discuss a review of Greece’s programme, the IMF said.

“The executive board is expected to meet [this] week, Friday, May 31, to discussion the completion of the third review of Greece’s programme,” IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters during a regular press briefing in Washington.

“A staff team will start discussions in Athens with the Greek authorities and our European partners on June 4. These discussions are expected to last about two weeks and Poul Thomsen will be leading the mission,” the spokesman said.

“Greece is determined to fight and win this battle; there is no other alternative for us. And we are winning,” Samaras said in a speech addressed to Greek and Chinese businessmen, enet.gr writes.

The Premier repeated that the fears of a “Grexit” are now becoming the certainty of a “Greekovery”. “Having achieved a safe political, fiscal and financial environment, we are currently implementing innovative structural changes,” Samaras said.

The Prime Minister invited investment in the fields of shipping, tourism, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and new technologies, using Cosco’s presence in the port of Piraeus as an example of a successful Chinese investment in the country.

Samaras went on to praise the Greek and Chinese civilisation, pointing to the countries’ long history and their world-renowned philosophers. “We should not forget that Socrates and Confucius lived at the same period and are world-widely acknowledged as the fathers of philosophy,” he said.

“Confucius spoke about the path to wisdom. Plato wrote about the path to virtue,” Samaras concluded. “Let us join our forces, to establish our own common path to a very prosperous future.”

Meanwhile at a speech at the Chinese Academy of Social Science Samaras said: “Chinese Culture and Greek Culture gave “meaning” to human societies, across the borders and across the ages. They both provided time-transcending ideals, principals, norms, rationality, ethics and aesthetics that enriched spirituality, beyond short-lived intellectual fashions, trivial concerns or momentary impressions.”

“Indeed, we are so different in size, location on the globe and social systems. And yet so similar in other respects: we both suffered dramatically from foreign aggression and occupation during the Second World War. Our peoples fought on the same side of the anti-fascist war and endured a lot of suffering. And this binds us together even more. Finally, we both went through periods of painful transformation after the War. And we have covered a very long way in a very short time these last decades… In a short and shallow perspective, we seem to be on different “trajectories” or in opposing “phases”. But in a broader and longer perspective, our destinies are closer than most “outsiders” can suspect.”

Government sources told the paper that the Premier would likely put back an anticipated cabinet reshuffle until after June 28-30, when conservative New Democracy is to hold a congress, or even later.

The Premier currently has more pressing concerns, chiefly overseeing the implementation of reforms voted into law including the politically sensitive process of merging and abolishing state organizations, as well as speeding up the privatization programme.

The Euro Working Group approved the disbursement of EUR 2.8 billion tranche of March. On May 13, the Eurogroup will meet to approve the EUR 4.2 billion tranche of the first quarter of 2013, while in late May Greece expects the IMF Executive Board approval to disburse another EUR 1.8 billion.

On May 20, Greece will have to repay bonds of EUR 5.6 billion held by ECB, which is expected to occur smoothly as the disbursement of EUR 4.2 billion from EFSF will provide the bulk of this issuing.

Finance ministry in an announcement said Euro Working Group meeting approved a EUR 2.8 billion tranche and paved the way for the EUR 6 billion of the tranche expected to be approved by Eurogroup on May 13.

“There was a positive appraisal of the implementation of the Greek program and clear references to the government’s determination to proceed with reforms.”

Meanwhile, GSEE, the confederation of Greek workers, has announced a 24-hour strike to take place on the 1st of May.

The strike is in response to the government’s decision to move the holiday to the 7th of May. A number of individual unions and federations have already announced similar plans, such as PAME.

Athens Metro employees union has announced a walkout from the beginning of their shift until 9am. In their announcement they explain that “May the 1st is a strike, not a holiday”, while adding that “we operate for the striking workers, so that they can easily travel and participate in demonstrations, marches and protests.

Also, Panhellenic maritime worker federation PNO has announced a 24-hour strike of all crews, of all ship categories, which will begin midnight.

According to AMNA, the prime minister referred to the “successful negotiating” with the heads of the troika, he spoke of the positive developments in the economy and drew the attention of his ministers to that “there must be no slackening as well as that we must not spoil things for petty disagreements”.

Insisting on the optimistic message, Samaras said “a few months ago the conditions were really gloomy, we managed the difficult measures well, the time has come now for us to manage the first alleviations, the first small reliefs and there are indications that things are going well. We cannot make mistakes now.”

Referring to the negotiating with the troika, he stressed that: whatever fiscal vacuum was detected, new measures were not necessary; there were for the first time tax rate alleviations mainly in the real estate tax received through the electricity bill; it was recognised for the first time that we are within the programme’s targets; for the first time many installments were enacted for the payment of private citizens’ debts to the tax authority and to banks; the payment of the state’s overdue debts to private citizens is going ahead while in theFinance ministry’s next bill an arrangement is being promoted for the offsetting of debts to and from the state.

Samaras also focused on the pending issues that still exist, with the most important being the moving of 25,000 employees by the end of the year, meaning the double evaluation of posts and staff in the entire public sector. In these frameworks, 15,000 will be removed by the end of 2014, of whom 4,000 by the end of this year and 2,000 of them in the near future. The prime minister stressed that for those removed an equal number of new will be hired through ASEP, something that will contribute to the public sector’s qualitative upgrading,AMNA reported.

The prime minister also spoke of the anomalies being observed “fortunately not in many cases when amendments to bills are submitted without the necessary consultations having preceded between the Parliamentary groups of the three parties” that support the government.

He also drew the attention of his ministers to that when they have a legislative initiative to inform in time all three parties supporting the government through the relevant representatives of the Parliamentary groups and to consult with each other.

Lastly, Samaras referred to the positive signs: unemployment is halting; over half of the enterprises of average and large size are considering investments; big foreign businesses are coming to Greece; the big projects are starting again; the recapitalization of banks will being completed in a few days; the returning of the export VAT will begin immediately after Easter; this year’s tourism will surpass every precedent.

Rejecting the doomsday scenarios, he said that while a few months ago many predicted the utter destruction of the euro and anticipated Greece’s exit from the single currency, “today, Greece remains in the euro and the situation stabilizes. Nobody bets on the so-called Grexit anymore,” he said.

“Greece is now shielded, catching its targets, moves closer to a primary surplus, has achieved reforms that had not been for decades, while our banking system is being recapitalized,” the Prime Minister added.

Samaras repeated the upbeat message he delivered on Monday after his government agreed with the troika on the details of structural reforms needed to unlock another EUR 2.8 billion of bailout funding. He said that Greece can “see light at the end of the tunnel,” Kathimerini writes. “It is not just the quantitative indicators but qualitative ones such as competitiveness that show it will be daybreak soon,” he said.

Samaras however stressed the need for aspects of the programme to change, particularly with regard to taxation. He said Greece needs to cut its value-added tax rates in order to be able to compete with neighboring countries, where they range between 8 and 10%. The Prime Minister said he favored a flat VAT rate of 15% for all sectors. He has long seen this as a way of reviving the Greek economy and attracting foreign companies to Greece. In his speech, Samaras suggested that Greece could become the home of international firms.