Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called on Greek people Saturday to enter into a “Progress and Prosperity Pact” that will place the country into a stronger position into the 2030s.
He emphasized medium-term goals – specifically, over the next four years – but did not neglect immediate measures designed to benefit a good chunk of the electorate – professionals, small-business owners, the young, pensioners and others – that he will face in a few months’ time, as he attempts to win a rare third consecutive term.
At the start of his keynote speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair, Mitsotakis mentioned it was the eighth consecutive year he was taking the podium; he felt no need to add, and the last before the next national election a few months from now.
Throughout his speech, Mitsotakis hammered on the need for stability, normality, a steady and strong government, themes that will no doubt dominate his upcoming electoral campaign, in which he will embark as a front-runner but by no means assured of a majority in parliament. And even though he said that the government’s “only adversary are the problems” and challenges lying ahead, he took several swipes at the opposition, especially his predecessor Alexis Tsipras, without uttering his name once. He accused him, as he did the whole opposition, of irresponsible promises without regard to their cost and he contrasted their policies with those of the Tsipras government, as in when he promised better pensions and lower taxes. Mitsotakis, when talking about energy and energy prices, took care to note how the dominant player in the sector, the formerly state-owned Public Power Corporation which Tsipras recently said should revert to public control, is now a strong, innovative enterprise. Left unsaid was that the company, under Tsipras, had teetered on the verge of bankruptcy.
