The relevant parliamentary committee gave, by a majority, the “green light” for Yannis Stournaras to remain at the helm of the Bank of Greece for a third consecutive term. With this development, Mr. Stournaras becomes the first governor of the BoE to serve three consecutive terms, while Mr. Pierrakakis pointed out that only Xenophon Zolotas had remained in the post for a similar period of time, but without a continuous presence.
Members of the New Democracy Party (ND) supported the appointment of the central banker. PASOK representatives opted to vote “present”, although the party’s rapporteur Paris Koukoulopoulos referred positively to Stournaras’ career. The KKE deputies also took the same stance, also voting “present”.
Syriza, Hellenic Solution, Nea Aristera, NIKI and Pleisi Eleftherias took a negative stance towards the renewal of Yannis Stournaras’ term of office.
Stournaras himself, commenting on the criticism from the parties that did not support his stay, stressed that “if he had not been independent he would not have been before the Commission”.
“I have no privileged relations with anyone, I had no sponsors, I arrived here as a self-made man. I have no dependencies. I’m clean, I succeeded in a difficult period when everything was falling apart. Let’s not forget where we were in 2015, and where we are today. Greece is considered a great success story. Success story absolutely,” he said.
During his keynote speech, the governor of the Bank of Greece warned that risks to the global and European economies have increased significantly in recent times. He noted that this could slow down the growth momentum of the Greek economy in 2026, although the overall outlook remains positive. “Progress is significant. But complacency is not allowed. The Greek economy still faces critical challenges,” he said, making particular reference to stubborn inflation and low productivity compared to the eurozone.
For his part, Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis took a swipe at PASOK, arguing that its “present” stance was a “reflection of the party’s political embarrassment” and “not of the commander’s merit.”
