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Simeon Mitropolitski is a Canadian analyst, of Bulgarian origin, and a former syndicated columnist with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). He is the author of several hundred articles dealing with hot political and economic topics, both national and international.

He was part of the first group of Bulgarian intellectuals and students that began the opposition movement that finally put an end to the communist regime in this country in 1989, and in 1996-1997 participated in international observation teams during the elections in several Balkan countries - Romania, Albania and Bulgaria.

In 2002 Simeon and his family moved from Bulgaria to Canada where they live now in Montreal, province of Quebec. Simeon is a Master of Political Science from McGill University and a B.A. of Political Science and History.

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The dominant social rhetoric, however, is surprisingly similar to that of any given moment in the last quarter of the century. And yet, something important has changed. Greeks are richer, more confident in their future, with brighter plans and opportunities. The unprecedented economic growth during the last decade is partly responsible for this change. Being the sole island of prosperity in the turbulent Balkan region is another factor. Steering away from easy populist economic solutions in a time of unprecedented investment activity, including from many small investors, in the last years was just enough to upgrade the country among the rich nations. What the country needs in order to go ahead is some more years of similar domestic moderation and external luck.

Greece lives through unprecedented period of economic growth; the country has cut the distance separating it from the leading European nations between a third and a half in the last decade. Several factors played roles in this development, domestic and external as well. Among the first group is the moderate economic policy that attracted record investments from biggest players as well as from many smaller individual investors. Greece has always been among the top destinations for rich European and American retirees. By joining the Eurozone, the financial rules have become much more predictable and transparent. Anybody investing in Greece can have peace of mind regarding possible exchange rate risks; they are reduced to nil.

Radical left rhetoric, however, can produce false impression that the country is, if not on the verge of a civil war, at least amidst a long and deep ideological conflict. This rhetoric hasn't changed since the mid-1970s. It will hardly change significantly in the years to come. It serves mainly as ideological points of references for different social groups. In fact, it has hardly any serious influence over the political life, outside some sensitive issues as the privatization of higher education, or of some state-run enterprises. The western experience shows that nominally state ownership isn't an obstacle for more flexible management. If an entire system cannot be privatized for ideological reasons, some sub-contracting systems can.

The moderate right was given a chance to continue with this temperate policy for more years. Some factors that played positive role for economic development, such as the easy access to external investments, may be cut away or greatly reduced in significance. The rise of Russia as a regional counterweight of the EU, however, may compensate for most of the loss; Moscow has traditionally looked at Greece as a proxy in its regional foreign policy. And right now Russia has more than enough resources looking for good investment projects abroad. Until other Balkan EU countries (Romania and Bulgaria) are ready to join the Eurozone, Greece will remain the sole oasis of financial stability in this turbulent region.

Greece country profile:

• Area: 131,940 sq km
• Population: 10.7 million (July 2007 est.)
• Population growth rate: 0.16% (2007 est.)
• Net migration rate: 2.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
• Life expectancy at birth: 79.38 years
• GDP real growth rate: 4.3% (2006 est.)
• GDP per capita: purchasing power parity $24,000 (2006 est.)
• Main trading partners: EU countries, Russia, Turkey, and the Unites States.
• Internet users: 3.8 million (2006)

(Source: CIA World Factbook 2007, Reuters)

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