The country is moving in the wrong direction, warns New Democracy president, Kyriakos Mitsotakis
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Main opposition New Democracy (ND) leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis sternly attacked the government over the FYROM issue in his speech on Tuesday to his parliamentary group, in a meeting held to present ND’s proposals for revising the Constitution.
“Unlike those now governing the country, the citizens have no illusions. Most of them believe that the country is moving in the wrong direction,” said Mitsotakis, adding that the government has given Skopje an opportunity “to taunt Greece”.
Mitsotakis reiterated that he will not vote for Prespes Agreement now or after the general elections. The only way to ensure the Agreement is never ratified is for elections to be held before it comes to parliament, he added. However, Mitsotakis said, the prime minister has committed himself to bringing the Agreement to parliament before elections are held, in exchange for things that help his party, not the country.
Mitsotakis went on to attack SYRIZA’s proposals for revising the Constitution, claiming that the government was attempting to turn the Constitution into a tool for distracting voters from their grim economic and social reality. He also claimed that the government was attempting to manipulate the highest parliamentary function in order to prevent the possibility of change for at least a decade.
“ SYRIZA’s proposal constitutes an outdated and reactionary path to a contitutional quagmire that will drag the country back,” said Mitsotakis, adding that SYRIZA’s proposal does not address issues of public administration, such as the evaluation of public-sector staff and meritocracy, or measures to support growth and investments, while not addressing the necessity to protect the independence and speed up the delivery of justice.
Presenting his proposal for the revision of the Constitution to his parliamentary group, said that ND will participate in the process and will argue on every article but will not consent to give SYRIZA a free hand.
ND’s proposal calls for a fixed election cycle and complete disengagement of the general elections from the election of the President of Republic. It also provides for the modernisation of the state with increased guarantees for fighting bureaucracy, increasing the powers and responsibilities of local authorities while providing them with more autonomous funding, protecting justice’s independence, ensuring a stable tax and investment environment, increasing the autonomy of public universities while allowing the establishment of private universities and finally, establishing real evaluation and meritocracy at all levels of public administration.
Source: AMNA