The introduction of postal voting and other major changes and reforms were the main focus of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ weekly Sunday post on Facebook, summarising the notable events and actions taken by the government in the previous week.
Mitsotakis presented postal voting as a possible answer to the problem of increasing voter abstention in the elections and an additional way to facilitate voting by Greek citizens living abroad, as well as those within the country who are in various ways prevented from casting their vote on election day.
He also referred to reforms in justice, especially that of restricting the number of times a trial may be postponed to just one, the reduction of unemployment below 10 pct, the upgrade of the Greek economy’s credit rating to investment grade by Fitch and the government’s efforts to counteract high prices and restrict unfair profiteering through market inspections and high fines for offenders, as well as efforts to improve access for people with disabilities.
Regarding the policy on the climate, as discussed at the COP28 Climate Conference in Dubai, Mitsotakis noted that Greece “participated as a global protagonist” and one of the leaders in using power from renewable energy sources. He also referred to the GR-ECO Islands initiative, in which Poros is next in line to become energy independent using RES, and Greece’s emergence as an energy hub for SE Europe.
The prime minister concluded his message by emphasising the necessity of state resilience as a “springboard for the future”:
“The only possible option we have today – individually and collectively – is a prompt adaptation to the new and demanding reality. Economic shocks, the pandemic, natural disasters, migration flows and geopolitical conflicts….are now the links in a chain that ominously encircles the prosperity and cohesion of societies, breeding insecurity and doubt.
At the same time, they test the state’s capacity to provide safety and security to its citizens and the potential of each place to live and grow as it had initially chosen.
For this reason, the prime minister added, “we need to seek not a return to the old normality but strive to overcome the crises by daring to make bold changes – in other words, converting the temporary difficulties into permanent opportunities. It is this 21st-century Greece that we are building day by day, opening up a front against the longstanding problems. A country that does not just follow the developments but helps to shape them. Resilience is a springboard for the future.”
SOURCE; ANA-MPA
