Greece in 2027 will be nothing like Greece in 2010 and the country will never return to a reality of big deficits, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Sunday, during the customary press conference given by the prime minister each year at the Thessaloniki International Fair. Replying to a question put to him at the 88th TIF about the government’s goals for the next three years and whether Greece will be in a position to lift memorandum measures, he said comparisons with the pre-crisis years were a mistake.
“I described a road map with great clarity. I set goals for how I envision Greece in 2027. Governments are judged over four years and ours will be judged in three years from now. In 2010, Greece effectively went bankrupt. We are never going to return to a reality of big deficits. The Greece I envision will rest on firm foundations, with unemployment below 8%, an average wage of 1500 euros, a minimum wage of 950 euros, a more digitalised public sector, a better quality of life for all. Greece in 2027 can be nothing like Greece in 2010. This means convergence with Europe. Greece in 2027 will be a much better country and Greece will be able to look forward to a better life,” the prime minister said.
European elections results ‘not bad but below expectations’
Ruling New Democracy remains the dominant political force in the country following the European elections, the prime minister replied when asked whether the election reflected reform fatigue and issues of confidence. He pointed out that it was not a bad result but a result below the government’s expectations. Mitsotakis said that some reforms came with political costs that could be reflected in a more ‘relaxed’ vote. He emphasised that the government did not hide and rejected the idea that there was reform fatigue. He specifically mentioned the judicial charter, a reform that has made a difference in terms of the speed of the administration of justice.
Mitsotakis pointed out that many changes had immediately visible results, while other measures need time to be implemented. In a question regarding the preparation of the 2027 milestone and whether he had any plans to step down as prime minister, Mitsotakis said it was too early for him to talk about what will happen in 2027 but stressed that has has been elected prime minister for a full term and intends to see it out. “The only thing I can tell you is that the ND is a governance party and obviously comes to every election to win,” he stressed.
Asked about high prices and how he evaluates the impact of government measures against this, the prime minister noted that the high cost of living was the foremost concern of citizens everywhere in the world and all governments must manage a difficult reality. He acknowledged the sharp increase in prices due to international inflation and that Greece started with lower wages coming out of the crisis, emphasising that high prices are the sum of inflationary trends in various economic activities. He pointed out that the government did not hesitate to tax electricity producers for excess profits and return them through subsidies to Greek households. The same is happening now that distortions are observed in energy prices of the entire south-eastern Mediterranean, he said. He also pointed to a stabilisation and decline in prices over the last three to four months and spoke about the initiatives regarding housing, which is an important component in inflation.
“All the measures we have taken in terms of tax reductions, insurance contributions, salary increases tend to support disposable income as the best defence against high prices,” he said, and predicted that inflation in Greece will continue to decrease and the government’s interventions will continue until until there is a significant improvement in the disposable income of citizens. He talked about the decline in production in Europe due to the increase in interest rates, something that did not happen in Greece.
Increasing wages the primary goal
Asked about the 45 measures that he announced at TIF on Saturday, the premier stressed that the top priority was to increase the level of wages, saying this was the core of ND’s policies, along with fiscal stability.
Next in line, Mitsotakis added, was to improve the National Health System so that by 2027 there were many health centres with well paid doctors. Regarding wages for young workers, Mitsotakis pointed to the government’s success in bringing down unemployment and emphasised that unemployment benefits should not create incentives to keep people trapped in a benefits policy. He also promised a one-off benefit for economically weaker citizens at Christmas.
He also pointed to plans to raise the age limit for the ‘My Home’ subsidised housing programme to 50 and relax the criteria, saying the government wants the citizens to acquire their own home. He also referred to measures designed to increase the number of homes on the market and build social housing.
‘Green transition and green energy an economic necessity’
Replying to questions about the electricity market, Mitsotakis emphasised that the green transition and green energy were an economic necessity while noting that the problem was that they do not generate power 24 hours a day.
“There is a fundamental distortion in the energy market of southeastern Europe. I will highlight the issue in a letter that I will send to the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Something is not working well. I do not expect immediate solutions but at least that someone looks into it. We export energy to Ukraine but the Greek consumer will not pay for the distortions of the European model. We will take the excess profits, we will return them to consumers so that they have prices below 15 cents a KWh. Retail prices in Greece are markedly lower than the European average. I will fight so that these distortions are corrected,” he said.
The prime minister also referred to actions taken to ensure law and order and fight crime and disregard for the laws, promising that law breakers will be dealt with.
Asked about the message of the European election result with respect to middle class voters, the prime minister stressed that he did not consult opinion polls in order to change policies.
“I greatly believe in accountability and that we have a stable and reliable programme, for which we were elected. We did the things that the citizens elected us to do. Some of them difficult. If we displeased some traditional voters, we explained by these policies were fair. As regards the core of implementing major changes, the course is predetermined and does not change,” he said.
On relations with Turkiye
Replying to questions on the attempts at rapprochement with neighbouring Turkiye, Mitsotakis said that he had never had any illusions regarding the difficulties involved and was a pragmatist, holding on to the positives. Among these he cited the lack of air space violations and better management of migration in collaboration with Turkiye, while noting that the core of Turkish revisionism has not changed.
He pointed out that the ‘Blue Homeland’ doctrine remained an issue, which he always raised with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and was the main obstacle to addressing the core of Greece’s difference with Turkiye over the Exclusive Economic Zone and continental shelf.
Mitsotakis also referred to armaments, noting that Greece was arming itself but also learning lessons from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, noting that very cheap systems can serve as multipliers of power. This was why Greece was now putting emphasis on domestic innovation of knowhow, such as the production of Greek drones for Greek warships.
Rents, drought and fires and tourism
The prime minister also answered questions on a number of social and economic issues, such as the housing shortage and short-term lease properties, the prospect of water shortages and overtourism.
He noted that the number of closed properties in Athens far exceeded short-term leases and that the government’s efforts will focus on bringing the former onto the market.
On the prospect of drought, he said this was the strongest expression of the climate crisis and required comprehensive management, announcing plans for a major project to supply water to the capital involving the Evinos and Mornos reservoirs and the Kremasta artificial lake.
Despite the destructive 2024 fire in Attica, Mitsotakis defended the government’s results during the fire season, noting that the amount of burnt land was less than the average of the last 20 years, “despite many more fires with the worst climate conditions of the last 40 years.”
To a question on overtourism, the prime minister commented that “the aim is not the arrivals but the revenues. We would like more tourists who spend more money. Greece does not have a structural problem with overtourism. It has a localised problem in certain destinations for some weeks or some months a year.”
Cruises had placed a burden on Santorini and Mykonos and for this reason there would be a fee of 20 euros, while steps will be to control the number of ships arriving at a destination simultaneously, he said.
“We must apply the brakes on islands where we consider that things have reached a point that is putting strain on the infrastructure,” he added, noting the problem with water supply, in particular.
“It is dangerous to present Greece as a country that is hostile to tourism. The city and the countries that did it will face consequences from such an overreaction. Barcelona has more than 30 million visitors a year whereas Athens receives eight million,” he pointed out.
The prime minister also categorically ruled out a return to austerity, noting that certain limits of the economy could not be exceeded but Greece had leeway to negotiate with the EU and was able to meet its basic commitments. The more GDP increased, he added, the more resources would be spent on the social state and defence.
In reply to an Athens-Macedonian News Agency question regarding the speed of the administration of justice, the premier said the government “was not satisfied and we are therefore making significant reforms on many levels.”
“I will point to the unification of district civil courts with first-instance courts. It is a reform that can be judged in three years,” he said.
SOURCE; ANA-MPA
