Greece’s Minister of Development Takis Theodorikakos highlighted the importance of new relief measures aimed at easing the burden on households and citizens from the effects of the global economic crisis, speaking on MEGANews Radio 104.6. Theodorikakos stressed that supporting society — and particularly the middle class — requires continuous intervention. He described the 120-installment debt repayment plan and the diesel fuel subsidy as critical measures, referenced upcoming decisions on heating oil, and placed special emphasis on Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s initiative addressed to the European Commission. He also linked social policy to job creation, higher wages, and the strengthening of industry and innovation.
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Theodorikakos: 120 installments and diesel subsidy are “critical interventions”
Speaking to journalists Dimos Verykios and Dimitris Alfieris on MEGANews Radio 104.6, Takis Theodorikakos commented on the measures announced by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, stating: “Both the 120 installments and the 20-cent diesel subsidy, as well as the letter to the President of the European Commission, are critical interventions. I don’t believe anyone can disagree with them. We must all support them because they are the right steps for our country.” On the matter of heating oil, he noted there is still a window of about two weeks, emphasizing that “we are committed to supporting every Greek family — especially in regional and mountainous areas, where needs are far greater, and we must do everything we can.” He paid particular attention to the Prime Minister’s outreach to Ursula von der Leyen: “Today, Kyriakos Mitsotakis made a very significant intervention directed at the President of the Commission. It is a bell that must ring loudly across all of Europe.” As he explained, the proposal concerns the possibility of using additional VAT revenues generated by rising prices to fund emergency social support measures, as well as exempting such emergency measures from existing fiscal rules. “I believe this is a reasonable and necessary request. It represents the common-sense majority view in Greece and across Europe, and Europe must respond accordingly,” he stressed, adding that “Kyriakos Mitsotakis will push for this, and I believe other countries will as well.”
€3.1 billion in investments with a focus on industry
The Minister of Development emphasized that the measures are targeted at families, the middle class, and the economically vulnerable, noting that “whatever we do, we will need to do more, because we owe it to people to listen and to empathize with what they are going through.” He also argued that there is no more meaningful social policy for a country “than jobs and better wages,” stressing that over the past two years the Ministry of Development has been working to “shift the economy’s priorities toward industry and innovation.” According to his statements, the ministry is currently supporting 928 investment projects across the country, with a combined budget of €3.1 billion and €1.5 billion in state grants, with a strong emphasis on manufacturing and industry. He added that government policy has generated approximately 600,000 new jobs in recent years, of which 60,000 are in the industrial sector. On the topic of shipbuilding and ship repair, he stated: “We want to have a strong shipbuilding and ship repair industry again. It is a shame that Greece ranks among the top two or three countries in global shipping and yet is not equally powerful in the shipbuilding sector.”
What he said about polls and the upcoming elections
When asked about opinion polls, Takis Theodorikakos expressed his belief that “the election results will be different from what the polls are showing,” arguing that a large segment of society has not yet made up its mind. He suggested that when the time comes, voters will face “a real crossroads” — one that, in his view, will come down to whether they “want to continue with New Democracy and Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the helm, a style of governance they have witnessed firsthand, one that says ‘what we promised, we delivered,’ backed by a clear plan for the next four years — or go with the logic of others who say ‘throw them out and let whoever comes, come.'” “New Democracy is the political force that represents all Greeks, without exception and without discrimination,” he declared, adding that the party must, through its policies and actions, represent both the middle class and the most economically vulnerable. “Our job is to support society as a whole and to represent society as a whole,” he concluded.
