Greece recovers but struggles to repatriate its brains

Seventy-two hours before polls open for the national elections, Kyriakos Mitsotakis' conservative New Democracy party is leading in the polls. Although he has a solid economic record, he may not win an absolute majority and not renew his mandate.

It must be said that the country is struggling to recover from ten years of economic and budgetary crisis (2008-2018) punctuated by drastic austerity cures. They led to a drop in incomes of more than 36% and led Greece to lose a quarter of its GDP.

Significant efforts

When Kyriakos Mitsotakis came to power in 2019, he faced a daunting challenge: repatriating the many Greek brains who fled during the lost decade. Between 2008 and 2018, nearly one million young graduates or ultra-qualified left Greece. In a country of 10.5 million people, the shock was harsh. Especially since this "brain drain" has had direct and harmful effects on market confidence and...

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