PM Mitsotakis: I will be judged at the end of the four-year term; elections in spring of 2027

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis addressed a wide spectrum of issues in an interview to journalist Dimitris Danikas for ‘Proto Thema’ newspaper.

These issues included the energy market’s operation, the Tempi train collision tragedy, the ‘revolution’ of gov.gr and AI, and personal notes including his family’s support. The interview also addressed issues such as improving the National Health System, the anger society might have, and its judgment of the government. Some additional issues included the government’s commitments, the reduction of unemployment, high prices in the market and government interventions, the need to incorporate OPEKEPE agency after its mismanagement of EU farm subsidies under the tax service (AADE), and the need for consensus among political parties.

Referring to the latter, the premier said that “the problem with political dialog today is when the opponent we need to disagree with and occasionally to reach an understanding with turns into an enemy that must be vanquished politically and sometimes physically too.” Despite the criticism against the government, however, he added, in terms of Greece “there is stability, there is seriousness, there is credibility. One has to be very prejudiced, I would say, not to see that Greece’s image abroad bears no relation to that of six or seven years ago.”

Mitsotakis said his government had honored his commitments of 2023, and was on the right track. “I did not say that I will turn Greece into another Switzerland in four years. But I did say that in four years the National Health System will be much better than it was in 2023. And it will be. I said that I will continue to reduce unemployment. And I have reduced it. I said that I will continue to strengthen the Armed Forces. And in a year from now we will have three state-of-the-art frigates. In terms of Turkiye, we managed to overturn the balance in the air and have a significant strategic advantage. I said I will control migration flows with a strict policy, and we put it in practice. Shouldn’t the Greek people judge me on these? Therefore, we have set our sights high.” He said the government would complete the full second term, with elections held as expected in the spring of 2027.

Referring to Greek-Turkish relations, the PM said, “Turkiye will not be able to utilize cheap European loans, the SAFE program, if it does not provide practical examples of improving its relations with Greece. I have said it before and am reiterating it now, if the casus belli is not withdrawn from the table, if Turkiye doe not stop promoting the unfounded theory of gray zones, it will not acess the program of cheap European Union loans.”

On a more personal note, Mitsotakis said his family provided his greatest support and told him the raw truth if he did something wrong. He also noted, “This is not a forever job. I know it. At some point, it will end. And when it ends, there will be life after politics.” However, he did express interest in a third four-year term, saying “This is my goal and I will fight for it.”

Source: ANA-MPA