Editorial: Traps

The projection in Greece’s 2020 budget has increased expectations.

That optimism can be explained politically.

The government has banked on the expectations of a strong economic take-off.

That take-off is its basic politico-economic narrative based on the premise of an investment-friendly climate that will make investors trust the Greek economy.

The

government must not ignore, however, the dangers of excessive expectations.

Greece must avoid this trap at all costs because otherwise economic optimism will give way to economic insecurity.

That danger will multiply if the state of the global economy deteriorates after four years of prosperity.

One need not be a diviner to see that the international economy does not have the best possible prospects.

The robustness of the international economy was exploited by Portugal over the last four years.

That is why it was able to implement an expansive policy without unsettling its fiscal balances.

Unfortunately, Greece lost that opportunity due to being mired in its last bailout memorandum.

One might hope that Greece in 2019 might emulate Portugal in 2015, but always with an eye to existing traps.