Bank of Greece governor Stournaras: ‘Early elections would be a huge mistake’

Bank of Greece (BoG) governor Yannis Stournaras on Wednesday replied that early elections would be a “huge mistake” for Greece, in response to questions put to him during a radio interview.

“Holding elections today would be a huge mistake. Greece is considered a very successful example of emergence from a very severe crisis – perhaps the greatest crisis Europe has faced in recent years – and is doing very well. Why should we hold elections now, in the midst of a war and such widespread turmoil? Secondly, political stability is the greatest intangible asset a country can have. It allows it to make decisions under very difficult conditions.”

Regarding the impact of the war on the Greek economy, the governor referred to the General Assembly on Monday, where the main scenario prepared by the Bank of Greece will be presented.
Nevertheless, he predicted that it will be even more difficult for Greece to enter a recession because the country already has a positive output gap. He explained that the Greek economy is growing at a rate that 1 percentage point higher than the rest of Europe. In Europe, the mild scenario currently projects growth falling to 0.9%, from the 1.2% previously expected.
“Here at the Bank of Greece, we estimate that, under this baseline scenario, growth will go from 2.1% to 1.9%,” he added.

amna.gr