The government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis, in an interview with MEGA, referring to Alexis Tsipras’s statements about the surplus, stressed that “the government is making the fullest possible use of the fiscal space allowed by European rules.”
The government spokesperson stated that the increase in tax revenues does not come from higher tax rates, but from growth, the increase in investments, exports, the creation of new jobs, and tackling tax evasion.
Mr. Marinakis noted that the proposals of Alexis Tsipras are fiscally unworkable and referred to the Greek film “The Crazy Fifty-Year-Old.”
“Mr. Tsipras operates ‘à la Tependris,’ as he ‘promises’ money that does not exist,” he said characteristically. At the same time, he recalled the period of SYRIZA governance, the referendum, the capital controls, the imposition of taxes, and the country’s economic burden.
Regarding the polls and the political landscape, the government spokesperson estimated that, “barring a shocking unforeseen event, our opponent will once again be Mr. Tsipras,” adding that the positions he is expressing today “are oft-repeated slogans” and are not accompanied by a credible implementation plan.
Speaking about the government’s tax policy, he stressed that “taxes must be reduced for all citizens, especially for the middle class and for lower incomes,” rejecting the logic of new burdens on businesses.
He also pointed out that the creation of jobs and the strengthening of entrepreneurship bring more benefits to the economy than a policy of increased taxation.
Mr. Marinakis also presented figures that -as he argued- reflect the improvement of the Greek economy after 2019, mentioning the increase in investments and exports, the creation of approximately 600,000 new jobs, and the reduction of dozens of taxes.
As he noted, “we are not starting from zero,” reminding that the government was called upon to manage successive international crises, while stressing that high prices cannot be eliminated with “magic recipes,” but their consequences are being gradually limited.
Referring to the standard of living of citizens, he acknowledged that Greece continues to rank low on European indicators, noting however that “we have not become Switzerland and Luxembourg,” but “we have covered the greatest distance.”
“Greece in ’19 did not wake up in Zurich,” but was “in the third basement” and is now rising “floor by floor,” he said.
As regards the intra-party developments in New Democracy, he stated that former prime minister Kostas Karamanlis “was never absent from the party,” describing him as a person with “heightened party consciousness.”
Regarding the scenarios of the creation of a new party by Antonis Samaras, he noted that “we have not accepted it, we have not taken it for granted,” expressing the conviction that any disagreements can be resolved within the party.
Commenting on the case of Dimitris Avramopoulos, he pointed out that it is before the Justice system and that, based on the data so far, “it appears that Mr. Avramopoulos has convincing answers,” stressing however that the final judgment belongs exclusively to the competent judicial bodies.
Finally, he referred to the government’s preparations ahead of the Thessaloniki International Fair, estimating that fiscal space of about one billion euros is being formed.
As he said, priority will once again be given to tax cuts, noting that “I believe that emphasis should once again be placed first and foremost on tax cuts,” while he underlined that small and medium-sized enterprises are also next in line to see “even better news”.