“Uncertainty is already covering up the economic crisis,” says Souvlaki entrepreneur in Athens – quadruples energy bills and food spending squeak Greeks

ATHENS In recent weeks, the Greeks have been searching for a sturdy chair before opening the electricity and gas bill.

Triple and quadruple bills are shaking the country, which is experiencing a third crisis after a decade of economic crisis and a corona pandemic.

Or rather, the country lives in crises intermittently. The losses of the economic crisis are largely unreturned, and pandemic restrictions still make it difficult to do business.

In the rise in prices, the state has directly and indirectly supported the Greeks with about four billion euros. According to the government, it is the largest current emergency aid in Europe in relation to the country’s GDP and population.

In the pandemic, government support, including EU money, reached € 43 billion. The Greeks hope that a European solution will also be found to the current crises.

If everyday life is revolutionized in Greece, it is the classic souvlak of street food.

The Greeks are accustomed to consider pita-gyro, or souvlak, to be bought at the counter as the cheapest and most satisfying folk dish.

That is what it is still, assures the restaurateur, who has raised his souvlaki to 3.3 euros Venia Kalou.

– We increased the souvlaki by 50 cents, even if the souvlaki of even four euros did not match the increase in our production costs.

According to Kalou, more than ten percent of customers have been lost since the increase.

The price of Souvlak is affected not only by the price of energy but also by the price of sunflower oil, pita bread and pork and chicken used in frying. The price of vegetables also rose in Greece due to the freezing winter.

If sunflower oil becomes more expensive, frying with olive oil may already become cheaper, Kalou estimates.

– I am afraid that the price of souvlak will have to be raised again. Despite the fact that the rise in the price of souvlak is considered a “sacrilege”.

In a recent poll, 83 percent of Greeks see the government’s emergency package as completely inadequate.

There is a meditation teacher in the same position Lina Vallianatou.

His family of six will benefit from the emergency aid of around € 40. That equates to an increase in the child allowance of one month.

– More pockets need to be sewn on the income, Vallianatou jokes.

He complains that his family is still in a similar situation to the economic crisis in 2012, when there were no crumbs on the table.

Even today, schoolchildren often have to look for their piggy banks, Vallianatou admits.

The purchase of basic foodstuffs already requires consideration. The price of products can rise almost weekly.

Amused, Vallianatou recalls teaching shopping with a 70-euro gift card won by her son.

– Where my son filled the cart, I secretly removed the products and still we had to empty the basket.

The Greeks want the minimum wage to rise to EUR 751 a month and a reduction in VAT on basic foodstuffs.

At present, the minimum wage for Greeks is EUR 663 and the average net wage is EUR 850 per month. The price of staple foods in the country has risen by more than 10 percent in some places. In the working-class part of Athens, for example, the rent for a triangle is about 600 euros a month.

The decision on the reduction of VAT desired by the Greeks is curbed by the fact that public revenue in Greece is more closely linked to VAT than in other countries.

During the Easter of the Orthodox Church, the Greeks are watching the prices of mutton, lamb and gasoline in particular.

In Greece, Easter is the most significant ecclesiastical celebration of the year and is accustomed to be celebrated among the family.

– A decision will be made on the price of petrol whether the celebration of Easter in home villages should be forgotten, says the insurance officer Elisavet Baka at a service station in north-west Athens.

Baka himself cannot afford an extra trip. Gasoline costs more than 200 euros a month due to business trips.

– I get a government based on my income petrol subsidy (switch to another service), but it is only about 40 euros for three months. When petrol liter costs more than two euros, the subsidy does not meet the needs of motorists.

Venia Kalou, which shuttles between its Souvlaki restaurants and its suppliers, also sits a lot behind the wheel of a car. He wonders how to secure the payroll of his employees.

– Concerns about tomorrow are so strong that uncertainty is already covering the economic crisis.

You can discuss the subject until Friday, April 15, 2022 at 11 p.m.