New Democracy spokeswoman Alexandra Sdoukou discussed political developments, the party’s polling performance, its goal of winning an outright majority at the next election, the challenges posed by the international situation and cost-of-living pressures, and current affairs in interviews with OPEN TV, ERT News and Skai.
On the question of winning an outright majority, Ms Sdoukou stressed that “an outright majority is a realistic political goal, despite the difficulties. Against this international backdrop, we believe that New Democracy, despite the mistakes it has made during its seven years in government, has done far more good than harm”.
“We keep saying that our goal at the spring 2027 election is an outright majority. In these global circumstances, we believe it is vital for Greece, and for what we have built in recent years, to maintain political stability, which is essential for continued economic growth”, she added.
On the difficult winter ahead, the New Democracy spokeswoman said “the key issue for the government in the current circumstances is how to support Greek citizens. The reality is that heating oil started at €1.13 last year and had reached €1.75 by April. If we did absolutely nothing now, when orders were due to start on the 15th of the month, we would all have to pay €1.90 to €2”.
“The government and the finance team are genuinely doing the best they can, finding every last euro to bring the price down as far as possible, below €1.75. We will hear about it this week. At the same time, we will increase the heating allowance, and we have already expanded the number of people eligible for it since last year”, she stressed.
On the cost-of-living problem, she stressed that “we started almost five years ago with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the energy crisis at the time, and today we also face the new crisis in the Middle East, the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on pipelines. These are the causes of the energy crisis, which the International Energy Agency has described as the most significant in history in terms of scale, and that is why prices are soaring”.
“At the same time, we are seeing borrowing rates on government bonds rise worldwide. This all looks like a perfect storm. That is the backdrop against which we are moving forward. And in these circumstances we have taken measures, from tax cuts to one-off support for pensioners and families, rent refunds for more eligible people, a 20-cent-per-litre cut in the price of diesel at the pump, and much more”, the spokeswoman said.
“No one is saying that it is enough. Everyone in the government would like to provide more, but we must preserve the credibility we have earned through hard work and sacrifice, and avoid returning to deficits and oversight. I think people can see all this; they know the limits we face, and no one is accusing the government of sitting on its hands in the face of the problem”, she added.
Finally, when asked about the knife attack that injured a 32-year-old, she stressed that “we must not face fascist violence again, because we have lived through it, and I believe we all remember certain images of people in black shirts on the streets, carrying crowbars and knives”, adding that “we are seeing, for example, the rise of the far right in Germany and elsewhere. It is very dangerous to let this phenomenon develop at the expense of our democracy, our principles and our values. We must not let what we lived through in the previous decade happen again”.
SOURCE: AMNA