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G. Gerapetritis: In conditions of multiple crises, a strong government is necessary

The main policy of the government is to support the financially vulnerable. This commitment was underlined by the Minister of State George Gerapetritis, in an interview with the radio station “Alpha Radio 989”, while for the politicians he stated that “the country needs a strong, stable government”, at the same time launching an attack against the president of PASOK – New Movement Androulaki for lack of desire in institutional collaborations.

Starting from the last, in detail, “we have an institutional stance, the Prime Minister has said in all tones that the elections will be held at the end of the government term – because this is provided by the Constitution – and will be held with the electoral system already voted. , if the Greek people choose not to have an autonomous government – which in our view is necessary to ensure governmental stability above all – then it is not ruled out in principle that New Democracy will seek political alliances, as provided by our Constitution “.

However, New Democracy’s position is that “in the face of multiple crises, it is necessary to have a government that is strong, strong. Beyond that, if the choice of the electorate is different, there are democratic outlets to seek alliances.” .

He also referred to the experience of the previous government, which he described as “diverse”, in addition to relying on “completely incoherent political characteristics” – and all this “led the country to a very big crisis. This experience should be our guide in choosing a government that will be able to take quick decisions for the benefit of the Greek people “.

Historically, moreover, it has been proven that “political alliances are difficult in Greece because there is always a rather polarizing climate that prevents creative collaborations on the basis of program agreements”, was a general remark of the Minister of State, who clarified that any political alliance has its own characteristics: “we can not compare the SYRIZA – ANEL government that did not have any ideological characteristics with other governments that had more related political characteristics”, as well as another government that has common ideological characteristics and another special purpose government .

At this point, he criticized the president of PASOK – Movement for Change, saying: “It seems that Mr. Androulakis is not in the mood to enter into such a logic of institutional cooperation. He himself stated that cooperation can only move on a social democratic basis. “This is already creating very serious political barriers, it is not an open approach. At this stage, what we need to keep is that the country needs strong, stable governance.”

Possibility of point interventions

Asked about the budget and the supplementary budget, the Minister of State stressed that “there should be, at all times, the possibility for the government to financially support our vulnerable citizens, who are affected by imported inflation, mainly by increases in energy. “For this reason there was a transfer of 2.6 billion euros.”

Referring to the cash resources – “which result from the good execution of the budget in 2021 and from the positive revenues of the first quarter of 2022, that is, we had more revenue than we estimated” – he explained how this extra possibility has been created funding – and for this reason “we can have a relative comfort”.

On the other hand, he added, “we must always have a careful fiscal policy, something we have built with a lot of effort, that is, fiscal stability and credibility. It must not be jeopardized and therefore, measured, targeted, we will strengthen those need”.

Given this, “the government does not adopt measures that are universal, horizontal in nature, that is, we are not of the opinion that we should go for a general reduction in VAT” – and this for two reasons. The first is that “it is not at all certain that such a reduction will be passed on to consumers.” The second is that “any universal, horizontal reduction essentially benefits in a balanced way everyone, both those who have the ability and consume a lot, and those who are in a very difficult position, with low consumption. Our basic policy is to choose to support mainly those who “They are vulnerable. With certain tools and to the best of our ability. There is the possibility of point interventions in our arsenal, even in VAT, but we do not expect that there will be universal reductions in this type of indirect taxes,” he clarified.

On the side of vulnerable fellow citizens

On the issue of energy, he stressed that “there is a structured policy, on the part of the Greek government, regarding the security of stocks, while there is always a secondary plan, if there is a very big crisis. Regarding the supply , there have already been very important interventions, we have increased the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG), so that we have larger reserves.On the other hand, there will be an extension of the operation of specific lignite plants so that the necessary production can be ensured. “And we are working to ensure the security of energy stocks in the medium and long term through the power grids and through the study for pipelines”, said G. Gerapetritis, assuring the Greek citizens that “there will be no question of adequacy, security of energy stocks and we will do our best so that there is a, if nothing else, a balanced price “, as and that “we will stand by the side of our vulnerable fellow citizens, that is for sure.”

The de-ligation plan does not change

Lignite is not a cheap fuel, he said, adding that “the more lignite we extract, the more the country pays the corresponding fee for pollutants.” In addition, lignite causes “very significant secondary environmental problems, at some point we must be aware that on this planet it is not just the current generation, it is the next generations. “We have said from the beginning that one unit will remain active so that the necessary reserves are in place,” he said. .

However, he also denounced the hypocrisy, as he said, of the official opposition, as “during the 5-year term of the previous government, the lignite production decreased by 50%”. Therefore, she should do her self-criticism, he added.

Either with the victim, or with the victim and the perpetrator

Regarding Zelensky’s speech and the videotaped message of the two soldiers of the Azov Order, he said: very clear: here we have two very specific paths and there is no third Ή Ή we are with the victim or we share the responsibilities to both the perpetrator and the victim.We stand with freedom and democracy and we are on the side of those who are currently accepting an attack, which is completely unnecessary and illegal “.

And he closed his comment on this issue by pointing out, “the ambivalent attitude,” we are absent “or” we are present – absent “, is completely hypocritical and conceals, in my opinion, selfish political micro-interests”.

Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ

Source: Capital

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