The findings of recent opinion polls, the dangers of populism and the government's economic policy were touched upon by government spokesperson and Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister Pavlos Marinakis in an interview with SKAI on Friday, during which he announced that further cuts to tax rates were imminent.
“ The polls tell us two things. One concerns our superiority over the other parties, which is worth mentioning, I think, given that it has never happened before with a government in its second term. The second, however, which should make us run faster and work even more efficiently, is that people have expectations and will judge us very strictly, on how effective we will be in very crucial questions they have about our policies. Therefore, there is nothing to do but bow our heads and work much harder, and every day generate at least one piece of good news from our policy,” he said.
Regarding the rise of the Plefsi Eleftherias party, he accused its leader Zoi Konstantopoulou of exploiting populist issues, such as the Tempi rail tragedy, without presenting realistic proposals.
“ It is worth trying to discover what Ms. Konstantopoulou specifically proposes to address domestic violence. We have had significant successes in addressing it and we have much more to do. Or regarding high prices, or the labour market....one thing is that it remains a party of the specific political space of protest, an anti-systemic, populist [party]. Here, however, we have a qualitative difference, in 2025 and I believe also in 2027, when we will have elections, compared to 2012 and 2015. We have seen it all before, to put it simply,” he said.
At the same time, he criticised main opposition PASOK-Movement for Change and SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance, accusing them of engaging in populist rhetoric, and warning that the "authentic" populists will win when the other parties adopt the same rhetoric to stoke society's fears and anger.
Regarding the economy, Marinakis pointed to the government measures to raise the minimum wage, reduce unemployment and strengthen the labour market. He acknowledged that citizens were struggling financially, but cited the government policies to support them, including more tax cuts.
"So what the government needs to do is reduce more taxes and announcements are imminent... We are talking about reducing tax rates, we have reduced [the property tax] by up to 50%. The criteria for reducing taxes will be twofold. That the numbers add up, so that the country does not end up having discussions about currencies again... and the second criterion is that it reaches the citizens." Finally, referring to possible government collaborations, he stressed that New Democracy seeks stable governments and will seek a new mandate in the next elections, insisting on the implementation of its programme.