Main opposition New Democracy party leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited the US last week where he held a series of meetings with foreign investors, delivered speeches in US universities and spoke to US media.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis was the keynote speaker at an international conference “Greece’s Turn?: Litmus Test for Europe,” at Tufts university organised by the Fletcher Law and Diplomacy School (Boston, Thursday Oct 13). The event looked at the ongoing bailouts, as well as the Eurozone’s precarious economic and political situation and problems such as high unemployment, low inflation, structural issues and a refugee crisis. The event was hosted at the same institution where Fletcher’s Constantine G. Karamanlis Chair in Hellenic and European Studies is based since since 2001 (founded at the initiative of Athens-based Konstantinos G. Karamanlis Foundation).
Kyriakos Mitsotakis also spoke to a seminar at Harvard University on “Greece: A Sustainable Path to Recovery”, while on Friday Oct 14 Mitsotakis spoke at the “European Horizons” event at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore (Greece at a Crossroads: Challenges and Opportunities).
“We need political change in order to pull the country out of its quagmire and for each and every Greek to prosper. Political change which will result from elections, which must be held as soon as possible,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed in an interview with the New York-based Greek-American daily “The National Herald”. Mitsotakis criticized the government for not being able to create the circumstances that will lead Greece out of the crisis and return to sustainable growth, noting that populism has brought many evils to the country. “Only the social economy of the market can produce wealth for everyone, attract investments and create new jobs,” he added, noting the battle is “deeply ideological” and is about returning society and the economy “to creative values such as meritocracy, transparency, hard work, creative ambition, trust in institutions, solidarity and cohesion, as well as the promotion and support of excellence”.
Mitsotakis concluded his visit to US with a series of meetings with investors in New York.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis was also interviewed by Bloomberg’s Michael McKee in Boston:
