“We have a lot of work ahead of us. Tomorrow, at the Cabinet meeting, each minister will present their 3-4 main priorities through to the election, because it matters to us that the government continues to deliver right up to the final stretch. The best prediction of the election result is effort, seriousness and hard work”.
This was said by Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis, in an interview on ERTnews television today. He added:
“We do not view the opinion polls with complacency. One could say it is very significant that, after seven and a half years in government, we are well ahead of the second- and third-largest parties, and that most of our fellow citizens believe New Democracy will win the next election. I would remind you that in 2023, too, polls three to four months before the election put New Democracy at 32% - 34%, and then we reached 41%”.
I am not saying that this will necessarily happen again now. But I am saying that Greeks will see the work that has been done, and will compare the prime minister with the leaders of the other parties, and New Democracy’s political team with those of the other parties.
They will also see our programme, which we are already preparing and which will be based on the truth but will include many innovative elements. In the end, they will support New Democracy, which is practically the only force on which the average Greek can pin their hopes”.
On agricultural subsidies, the deputy prime minister said advance payments had just been made to those who submitted applications by 25 September.
“The government’s intention”, he added, “is to complete the advance-payment process, as it did last year, by 30 November. The pace of applications has already picked up and continues to rise: from 1,000-2,000 applications a month ago, we have now reached 16,500 a day.
The new system has been well received both by co-operative representatives and by the Geotechnical Chamber. We are in the process of moving from OPEKEPE to AADE. That cannot happen overnight.
The new system is more demanding, in line with what the European Union requires, so that there is greater transparency. What is certain is that, after a few teething problems, we are moving forward. What will remain in the end is a fairer system. The country will receive the same amount of money but distribute it more fairly in favour of genuine producers”.
Asked about fuel subsidies, Mr Hatzidakis said:
“Because we have done our sums carefully and are taking a prudent approach, we can continue to provide support. We were among the first countries in Europe to respond, and we rank third in the EU in terms of the scale of support.
We are proceeding within the limits of what the budget can bear and up to the point where we do not receive yellow cards from the European Commission and the markets, at a time of turbulence in the bond market.
At the same time, as other countries are doing, we are calling for greater flexibility so there is room for further action without jeopardising fiscal stability. In any case, protests and clashes in a number of European countries show that the problem of high prices is not unique to Greece or a problem of the government, as some have sought to portray it, but a European and international one”.
On foreign and defence policy, he reiterated that the government is moving ahead without making a fuss, but with tangible results.
“The country”, he stressed, “has achieved major national successes in recent years and has a prime minister who represents it with distinction”.
In this context, he recalled the prime minister’s speeches to the US Congress and, last week, to the UN, where he set the record straight on the illegal Turkish-Libyan memorandum.
He also noted the acquisition of the new frigate “Nearchos”, which joins the frigate “Kimon” in strengthening the country’s defences, as well as the Rafale fighter jets and the F-35s to come.
He also highlighted the partial delimitation of the EEZ with Egypt, with further delimitation now under way; the corresponding delimitation with Italy; maritime spatial planning in the Aegean; ecological parks; stronger ties with the US; defence agreements with France; hydrocarbon exploration in the Ionian Sea and the waters south of Crete, “which is not without political significance”; and the vertical gas corridor, which makes the country an entry point for liquefied natural gas into Europe.
“All of these are unquestionably major national achievements and demonstrate the strengthening of the country’s position”, Mr Hatzidakis concluded.
He also said that plans for the undersea electricity interconnection between Greece and Cyprus were proceeding as planned.