ATHENS — The 24 billion euros that the government is advertising has not reached the real economy, which is experiencing a huge liquidity deficit, SYRIZA spokesperson Alexis Charitsis said on Wednesday in an interview with public broadcaster ERT.

In particular, regarding the economy, Charitsis said that "workers, small and medium-sized enterprises, self-employed and farmers are still looking for this money."

"It is one thing to announce and another to really boost the economy and the industries that need it," he added.

He said the prime minister had admitted to the cabinet yesterday that only 3,000 businesses and 33,000 of the 1 million workers in total had joined the relevant program. This is a "catastrophic failure", he said, adding that small and medium-sized enterprises remain uncovered, as they are excluded from the possibility of borrowing and the immediate liquidity they need. He pointed out that this is why SYRIZA has asked for the timely reinforcement with liquidity with non-refundable aid.

Charitsis noted that the Greek economy "after 12 consecutive quarters of growth during SYRIZA, has already been in recession since the fall of 2019 due to government policy." He argued that "in conjunction with its inaction in dealing with the effects of the coronavirus crisis, the problems in the economy are exacerbated, entire sectors are being hampered and more and more workers are facing the specter of unemployment."