A window of optimism for de-escalating the crisis appeared for the first time since November 30, when the mobilizations began, with farmers at the blockades finally accepting the new invitation from the government for dialogue. The meeting is scheduled for next Tuesday, January 13 at the Maximos Mansion, following a nationwide assembly in Nikaia tomorrow or Sunday to determine the delegation that will negotiate with Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Two conditions for dialogue with farmers
The government, through the competent Minister of Agricultural Development Kostas Tsiaras, remains in continuous contact with representatives of the agricultural blockades to finalize the appointment. Earlier, government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis issued a new call for a meeting, setting the preconditions: “The Prime Minister will be absent on Monday for obligations outside Greece, but will be in his office on Tuesday. Clearly, with two conditions, clear conditions, otherwise it makes no sense. The first prerequisite is that the delegation be proportional in representation, meaning all mobilizations must be represented, because to find a solution everyone must be present. The second, the dialogue must take place with open roads.” This was ultimately the government spokesperson’s message to people in the primary sector in his interview with newsbomb.gr, focusing on specifying measures to strengthen agricultural income and addressing production costs.
Factors that opened the path for dialogue with farmers and how they changed stance
It should be noted that from the first moment, when the first blockades began appearing, the Prime Minister himself in a speech in Markopoulo on December 6 had addressed the farmers, saying “we are open to dialogue” and setting the same two conditions: “open roads” and “come organized and with specific demands.” The government announcements on Wednesday appear to have been the most significant factor in changing farmers’ stance regarding dialogue with the government, which sector representatives had been refusing for about a month and a half. Immediately after the government announcements, farmers from across Greece supported that, since specific positions and financial figures were announced, conditions for starting dialogue were created. Additionally, the example of farmers’ markets showed that when someone approaches dialogue without extremes and radical mobilizations, common ground and solutions can always be found, which also influenced the farmers. Another reason that was catalytic in accepting the government invitation was the clear position expressed by the Maximos Mansion that, beyond announcing the six measures for farmers, there would be no other interventions for the sector.
“We have never said ‘no’ to dialogue and the Prime Minister himself has said he is available with two preconditions and one note. The note is that there is no fiscal space or possibility under EU rules for additional measures. But dialogue remains necessary for all the major changes already being promoted and everything else that still needs to be done for the primary sector,” was the central message, as expressed through Mr. Marinakis in yesterday’s briefing of political editors. Meanwhile, within farming circles, alarm bells had begun ringing about the negative reception by a large portion of Greek society to the continuing agricultural mobilizations. Especially during the holidays, which caused hardship for thousands of citizens, while strong reactions were expressed about the evolution of blockades from economic activity sectors like tourism, commerce and hospitality, which were hit by cancellations. At the same time, social reflexes were negative toward the view that seemed to be gaining ground – that farmers in the blockades disagreed with OPEKEPE’s transition to AADE, seeking to continue receiving EU subsidies in an environment of opacity and non-existent controls. This point also appears to have contributed to the farmers’ turnaround, given the uproar caused in society by the “party” of illegal subsidies.
