Greece has been, in many ways, a partially dysfunctional society. For example, the wealthy barely pay taxes... to an extent, that's true elsewhere, including the United States, but it's been pretty extreme in Greece.
I have always taken measures to fight corruption, to attract investment, to create a better context for investment in Greece.
Greece is an extreme case: a country where both the level of spending and the level of taxation were unsustainable!
The vast majority of Greeks accept the need for reform and want to keep our country inside the euro zone.
I am convinced that the public, large majority of the Greek people, realize that policies pursued in the past and the market practices have to be changed, in order to improve the prospects of the Greek economy. So there is, I think, strong public support despite the increases in social tensions.
If you look at the Greek economic record, it's been very similar to the U.S. experience in the first four years of the Great Depression. And after having a Depression-sized event, they've cut the unit-labor cost in Greece - they've closed something like half the gap with Germany.
We won't get any growth in Greece by just imposing cuts. What I would prefer is a special economic zone for Greece.
Greece is a medium-sized country in Europe. Our debt accounts for only 2.5 percent of the total of all members of the euro zone.
The country needs someone with experience and determination to make tough decisions. All the money aside, it is important that Greece restore its reputation.
Greece is not an easy country to do business in.
The goal of the government is to guarantee the place of Greece in the eurozone against those who want to undermine it.
I am personally convinced - and I think the Greek people share this belief in a fundamental way - that we can achieve fiscal consolidation more effectively and we can restore competitiveness in a more fundamental and permanent way within the euro area than outside.
In a world of massive wealth and income inequality, Europe must support Greece’s efforts to build an economy which creates more jobs and income, not more unemployment and suffering.
The real problem in Greece is not cutting taxes, it's making sure that we don't have tax evasion.
In order to make reforms sustainable, the Greek economy needs the space to return to growth and start creating jobs again.
Many have wondered if Greece's economy would get so bad that it would eventually break away from the Eurozone - a move that could encourage other countries to follow and therefore splinter the currency union.
Greece's unprecedented fiscal effort, which was more than planned, has triggered much larger contractions of economic activity and the tax base than the original program had assumed.
Slowly but surely, we are decreasing unemployment and we are restoring confidence to the future of the Greek economy.
My hope is that more and more investors around the world see an opportunity to do business in Greece.
Greece's debt is going to be a function of a lot of factors down the road.
The very welfare state the Occupy Wall Street protesters so eagerly applaud is what has saddled Greece with colossal debt and left its economy on the brink of collapse, igniting violent protests across the nation.
We remain open to explore options on a voluntary approach built on a realistic outlook for the Greek economy and restoration of Greece's market access.
Greece could default on its debts and even exit currency bloc if it cannot deliver reforms.
I was never presented with the details as far as the collective bargaining system is Greece. I am in favor of a normal system without giving the labour minister the right to extend the results to extend the result of the collective bargaining to the whole of the real economy. The government has to make sure that the results will not harm the situation of small and medium enterprises.
Other countries have access to the markets, whereas Greece does not. Therefore, we have to get liquidity through the ECB.
