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Coming soon … shops closed in Thessaloniki, after the sudden last minute government decision (File photo)
MOTIONTEAM / GIORGOS KONSTANTINIDIS
“Don’t go upstairs at all. We’ll send you ‘buns’ from Thessaloniki for Easter.” The direct blow to the prime minister that a citizen was throwing in the morning, in a “well” of merchants in front of his shops in the market of Kalamaria, clearly reflects the anger of merchants and shopkeepers of the urban complex after the latest government inconsistencies to open stores.
And such is the anger that “caught him in the air” and the mayor and Democratic deputies, who with their statements “grab” the government and ask for “change” here and now. Among other things, the reaction of the president of the Thessaloniki Chamber of Commerce, Pantelis Filippidis, is typical, on the same wavelength as the Kalamari “well”, as he states (thestival.gr) that “we are starting a career that the the government will know 100%. We will not leave it like that. It cannot destroy us. We have families, obligations, problems. We must respect the commercial world. ” What “flavor” will your fight have? Anger that is now not hidden and it is interesting to see if it will be collected.
It is not just a coincidence, of course, that those who until now counted their words one by one, such as the mayor of Thessaloniki, Konstantinos Zervas, “exploded”. His statement is typical: “The last minute suggestion for the exclusion of Thessaloniki from the measures for the opening of retail and inter-city travel is sudden, unpleasant and there comes a time when everyone expected otherwise. The self-employed and entrepreneurs did their planning, following public statements and guarantees. After so many months of faithful observance of the measures, months of financial loss and stores closed, they are entitled to a better deal.
“Conflicting information, constant changes in decisions, and reversals undermine credibility, cause confusion, and ultimately undermine the collective effort. I have long argued that managing the pandemic must be done wisely, with action. smart, with scenarios and assessments. “All closed, all open” obviously no longer works as expected. One year later, new approaches, new ways, new measures and new decisions are needed to protect public health more effectively . The market can and must operate with rules. It is an urgent need, which will give an absolutely necessary economic respite, but at the same time it is a way out of decompression for society. I appeal to those responsible and decision-makers to review his attidude “.
And the government deputy Stratos Simopoulos heard the “wells” throughout the city, so he was quick to demand that something be saved if it is saved, asking “to explain the decision and strengthen the support measures.” His full statement: “Last night, the government made the difficult decision to suspend Monday’s opening to retail trade in Thessaloniki, Achaia and Kozani. The commercial world reacts, also having to deal with the blockage of several days and the cost of an “opening” that will not take place. At the same time, you can not understand what changed in one day and the “opening” became “suspended”. I believe that one explanation is due to the merchants, while the latter must avoid protest rallies. The pandemic is present and in fact in great exacerbation in the three cities mentioned. At the same time, the productive bodies of commerce and the deputies, mainly from the ND, must request special financial support from the government for this local blockade, which has demonstrated its ability to “listen.”
It is understandable, then, that the opposition organized a “celebration” of announcements. We have managed to count two announcements only from the SYRIZA-PS MP Katerina Notopoulos. In the first, he joked “Shown today:” Lost expectations! “After the” Bergamo “of November, now the” lost expectations “of the sudden ban on the opening of the market in Thessaloniki, next Monday. The competent ministers must finally explain clearly to the Thessalonians why they had not taken into account the reservations of the experts before. They have not listened to the scientists in recent days when they warned of the high viral load. When deciding in the dark, they do not hide their responsibilities, nor the quagmire in which the city and its market lead ” .
The second was descriptive: “The” marble “of the government’s failure to manage the coronavirus is being paid once again by the commercial world of Thessaloniki. On Wednesday, the Government announced the horizontal opening of the market and two days later – almost at the midnight – announced the extension of the blockade in Thessaloniki, Achaia and Kozani. They let the traders and entrepreneurs prepare for the opening of the market and then “emptied” them, ignoring the cost of preparation. It does not matter if the “emptying” costs .. And while they punish entrepreneurship by subjecting it to capsules without a trace of contraction, at the same time they do absolutely nothing to limit the spread of the virus.
»They do not announce any measure to strengthen the SEN, in addition to its staffing, strengthening of Hospitals, Primary Health. And at the same time, they turn a blind eye to the crowd on city buses! The incompetence of the Government is now proving disastrous for all Thessaloniki. But this is the perception that the Government of our city has. Devaluation, degradation, prolongation of the crisis. However, the local blue actors are equally co-responsible and incompetent, who, absent, do not take any initiative to claim or even treat Thessaloniki seriously. But just as the government turns its back on the city, Thessaloniki turns its back on them. As for the new government fiasco, the minimum we demand at this time is to compensate the commercial world of Thessaloniki for the new extension. There are no excuses or excuses! “
The magnitude of the anger is unequivocally expressed in a post on Facebook, by the president of the Thessaloniki Hoteliers Association, Andreas Mandrinou, who demands that the market be opened … “otherwise, the future result will be the same as that of this week’s elections in Sports … »!!!
The president of the city’s Chamber of Commerce (EETH), Michalis Zorpidis, calls on the government to reverse the decision to suspend the operation of retail in Thessaloniki.
“We call on the government, at the last minute, to reverse the decision not to open retail, to give hope to the thousands of professionals in Thessaloniki and together with the safe exit to the people of Thessaloniki to move to an environment of health insurance by observing the measures that professionals have already implemented ”, emphasizes the president of the EETH in his announcement.
“The sudden decision taken is a severe blow to the already affected business in Thessaloniki,” notes Mr Zorpidis, adding that “the contradictory and contradictory statements by scientists on the effect of retail trade on the spread of the pandemic, leave without Thessaloniki answers tortuous questions, while the unpredictable reactions of people being destroyed cannot be controlled: “Health is our priority, but also our survival is our concern.”
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