Among the many other things that the coronavirus overturned in our lives, it also deprived us of the joy of celebrating the 200th anniversary of the beginning of the struggle for Greek independence in a truly deserving way.

Along with the celebrations, it was and is an opportunity to fully appreciate the magnitude of the sacrifices and contributions of the generation of the Greeks of 1821, both inside and outside of Greece. Those who made the Revolution robust and victorious.

It is another opportunity to emphasize that despite the four thousand-year course of our nation, the modern Greek state dates back only 191 years.

In other words, it is a relatively new state.

It is a fact that during these years the Greek state made tremendous progress and underwent great changes. The Greek state of today has nothing to do with the one that existed in 1830.

But is this enough? Is Greece, in this respect, an exception compared to other countries?

Along with the justified songs of praise that will be heard leading up to March 25th, we must also see an unpleasant truth: that the sovereignty of the Greek state continues to be threatened today by the very people from which it was liberated in 1830 – the Turks.

This is due in large part to the fact that the Turks feel that they are stronger than the Greeks and are therefore trying to seize an opportunity.

It does not matter if this is the case or not. What matters is how our opponents see us.

In order for Greece to face all future risk, therefore, it must, in my opinion, set National Success Goals.

Many countries, including Turkey, set short-term and long-term goals.

Let's look at the idea of National Success Goals as follows:

They should be ambitious, but not unrealistic. And they should also be discussed more widely and accepted by the majority of the people. They must remain stable, even with the changing of governments. There must be continuity.

A new government will be able to improve, in its view, on the means for achieving the goals, but they should not be able to change the goals themselves.

What could these goals be? As examples I will mention the upgrading and modernization of Greece’s bureaucracy, the emergence of Greece as an exporter of solar energy, and the radical upgrading of Education and Healthcare.

But what, for Greece, would be analogous to America’s Apollo project which brought the U.S. to the Moon? That is the very ambitious goal of the transformation of Greece into a country that generates and produces advanced technology, with the cooperation of the Greeks of the Diaspora who have the know-how – the crucial knowledge in these matters.

And while all the goals can work in parallel, one of them must be given priority so that it can be completed.

I have only referred to a few goals, which in a period of 5 to 10 years could and would change the socio-economic trajectory and level of the country. They would increase the Gross National Product by a significant percentage and make Greece militarily powerful.

So let the historical event of the 200th anniversary be the starting point for something substantial for Greece, with tangible results that are worthy of the sacrifices and triumphs of our ancestors.

And let us validate them by bringing Greece to another level, to the first ranks of the advanced countries in the world.