With strong public turnout, Michalis Sallas presented his new book, What Went Wrong in Greece—and What Could Be Fixed, at the National Gallery of Athens. The event featured speakers Maria Efthymiou, Emeritus Professor of History at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA); Elias Papaioannou, Professor of Economics at London Business School; and Panagiotis Roumeliotis, Emeritus Professor of Economics and former Greek Minister of National Economy. Journalist Dora Anagnostopoulou moderated the discussion.
A Deep Dive into Greece’s Economic and Political Trajectory
The book—published by Athens Bookstore Publications—has already drawn significant attention since its release, appearing prominently on bookstore bestseller lists. Roumeliotis described it as the culmination of Sallas’s decades-long academic, scientific, and professional career, grounded in over 10,000 personal notes and archival records spanning 1970 to 2024. He highlighted the book’s systematic mapping of Greece’s post-dictatorship evolution: from its accession to the European Economic Community (EEC), through fiscal imbalances and the 2010–2018 financial crisis and bailout memoranda, to the responsibilities borne both by successive Greek governments and European institutions.
A Roadmap to 2040
Roumeliotis emphasized Sallas’s forward-looking proposals for a new national development strategy up to 2040—centered on high-value-added production, regional empowerment, education reform, transparency, and accountability.
Papaioannou underscored the book’s holistic approach, integrating economics, political science, and historical analysis to examine both national and regional dimensions of development. He noted that the work avoids simplistic moral binaries—rejecting narratives of ‘saints’ and ‘demons’—in favor of a sober, evidence-based interpretation of Greece’s reality. It sets concrete goals for 2040, identifying labor, economic and human capital investment, and overall productivity gains as foundational pillars of future growth.
Efthymiou focused on the enduring influence of collective mindsets in shaping Greece’s historical path. She pointed to persistent patterns—including political polarization, deep-seated mistrust of the state, and chronic reliance on borrowing—as structural impediments still affecting the country’s trajectory. Overcoming these entrenched attitudes, she argued, is essential for achieving stable and sustainable development.
Sallas delivered the closing address, reflecting on pivotal turning points in modern Greek history: the restoration of democracy in 1974, EEC accession, adoption of the euro, and other defining moments that continue to shape Greece’s present and future.