[AMNA]
Greece’s central bank chief on Wednesday warned that it would be a “huge mistake” amid the war in the Persian Gulf for the country to hold snap parliamentary elections, an idea some government officials have been reportedly toying with.
Yiannis Stournaras said such a potential move would squander the country’s hard-earned stability.
“Political stability is the biggest non-tangible capital any country possesses,” he said in a radio interview. “It allows it to take decisions under very difficult circumstances.”
The central bank governor said that after successfully exiting the 2010-2018 debt crisis Greece is currently “doing very well.”
“To hold elections now would be a huge mistake,” he added. “Why should we have elections now in the midst of a war and such great turbulence?”
Government officials have reportedly urged Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to trigger early elections as the conservatives’ poll ratings have improved. The government and Mitsotakis himself have repeatedly insisted that the next elections will be held as scheduled when its four-year mandate expires next year.
Stournaras said the Bank of Greece would present its base scenario on the effects of the war in the Persian Gulf on the Greek economy on Monday.
Stournaras added that the economy entered the current crisis, “I would never use the word shielded, but with enough safety cushions,” with a primary budget surplus and with banks and insurance companies sufficiently capitalized.