K. Mitsotakis: The reduction of VAT on food is in our quiver – Elections at the end of spring 2023

LAST UPDATE: 19:13

By Dimitris Gatsios

At the end of the spring of 2023, the prime minister placed the elections, speaking at the forum of the Economic Post “The Changing World”. At the same time, Mr. Mitsotakis closed again, the scenarios for change of the electoral law, setting, at the same time, the stake of the next ballot box, while he noted that the investment stage is a goal that is completely achievable for 2023.

The prime minister left, for the first time, a window for a co-operative government, after the first ballot box. The reduction of VAT on food remains in the quiver of the government, with Mr. Mitsotakis also noting that the further increase of the minimum wage will be significant and will take into account the new data on inflation.

The government will also proceed with the submission of an additional budget, with an upward revision of the targets for the primary deficit this year. “We will not endanger development dynamics and social cohesion,” he said.

“We are not stuck in the targets we have shown that we have flexibility… And now we are holding back, because we do not know how long the crisis will last and this is the responsible attitude… Lending costs are rising everywhere because interest rates are rising everywhere… The country has 40 billion aside “, it has the ability to plan its lending in such a way as to adapt to interest rate increases,” he noted.

“We have an electoral law. These are not serious things. I am a responsible, institutional politician who has learned to follow rules. We changed the electoral law because we firmly believe that simple proportional representation leads to anarchy and I believe that this will be proven through simple proportional ballot box… We have an electoral law with enhanced proportional representation, with bonuses for the first party, with a clear bar of autonomy, so we know what we want to claim and this goal, if no government can be formed after the simple proportional ballot box, we will claim Ί Sure, this creates an instability of 2.5 months but we are not responsible for it.The previous government that changed the electoral law is responsible… The goal is stability and to make decisions quickly… The Greek political system is also a product of a great and strong polarization and divisive lines that have been drawn in my view for a reason which is extremely toxic from the official opposition from the time he was already in government. The time he claimed to come to rule the country in the season of 2013-2014… The people will finally tell us if the country will be ruled by 1 or more parties. What is certain is that the country will be governed… We will promote our work… I do not think there has been a government that manages so many crises Ελλάδα Greece is changing and the goal of Greece becoming a truly European country. Modern European. This remains a goal that I believe very deeply in myself and I had said that it will not be completed in four years. But the foundations are being laid… We have not stopped making reforms… But I prefer a word that comes from the past. I prefer the word modernization because it better describes what is happening… The flag of change is not submitted by this government… “, pointed out Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

The Prime Minister left open the possibility of reducing VAT on food. “We prefer our measures to be more targeted ώ I prefer the space I have at my disposal to direct it to those who need it most. Reducing VAT on food is always a weapon that can be in our quiver… If we moved in it direction we must be sure that this reduction would be seen by consumers and would not go to the profit margin of businesses… Businesses have relied heavily on this government and we must be absolutely sure that any horizontal intervention goes to the final price because “That’s our concern,” he said.

Mr. Mitsotakis proposed, among other things, the housing policy for young couples, placing this strategy at the forefront of government policy. “We have a lot of empty apartments and neglected… To think about what incentives we can give, to re-enter the market,” he said, announcing announcements.

The Prime Minister, among other things, stressed:

– We are experiencing unprecedented situations. A global geopolitical crisis as a result of the invasion of Ukraine that comes after a Pandemic which had already created asymmetries between supply and demand. It is a crisis that is primarily imported. But it must also be treated in national terms… European to the extent that we can intervene in the gas market and this is the suggestion of Greece but this is no excuse for us not to respond with national weapons to the wave of precision that is trying everything today the Greek households. The measures we have taken are usually targeted measures…

-We want to support the domestic production, the domestic livestock so that we do not face problems that will arise from the reduction of livestock that is a possibility at the moment… The controls are continuous and the fines are very important and I want to send one the message that wherever cases of profiteering are identified, we will not hesitate to impose the maximum fines allowed by law;

-There are a number of measures related to the improvement of disposable income through the continuation of a policy of tax reduction. For example, the reduction of ENFIA which is support for the disposable income of almost all Greek households and the same applies to all tax cuts because this government serves this policy… I honestly say that the measures are not enough and there is no today a country that can absorb increases through fiscal measures. However, other measures follow, such as the increase of the minimum wage on May 1… It will not be negligible It will be important νω I am waiting for the final suggestions of the experts…

– I want to assure those who hear us that there are no shortages in the market that we monitor very closely the flows of imports. Our country is not dependent on Ukraine for wheat or maize… The largest supplier is Bulgaria and trade from Bulgaria continues unhindered… In recent years we have been in surplus in terms of the balance of the primary sector. We export more primary sector products than we import…

-We want to make the country an energy hub and to import gas from the Eastern Mediterranean, either through pipelines or through lng. To import electricity from Egypt that will be produced by the sun and will pass to Europe. And of course the next day to go out in the hydrogen economy and become a hub for the transport of hydrogen which is the fuel of the future…

-From the first moment I said that the super profits must be taxed. To be effectively returned to society through an extraordinary taxation. The opposition will not even tell us how much the profits are, taking out a number from a hat that I have no idea where it came from. We will be told by the energy regulator that has the ultimate responsibility for determining these profits and obviously companies have an obligation in their financial statements which are audited by certified public accountants to reveal the financial reality… It is not easy for a large company to hide profits…

– The energy regulator will do this work that will be completed in the coming weeks. It will determine the super profits for 2021 and 2022 and the government will then come to tax at 90% and recover the amount due to it…

– We do not know when the war will end. It is a war that will have no winners and the big loser is the one caused by the invader Russia…

-We have reasons to be moderately optimistic about the course of the economy… We have no idea that tourism will be affected. Yes, we will lose half a million visitors from Russia, but it is not a number that is not manageable… We have a number of major projects underway… If one looks under the cloud of pessimism one finds that there is a dynamic in the image of the economy that makes us believe that when the crisis is over we will catch the thread of growth again… There is a dynamic in the economy that certainly did not exist three years ago…

-The debate on budget deficits has already begun, we have exchanged views and the positions of the sites are clear… If Europe wants to make the big investments that it wants to make, these investments must be financed from somewhere…

-Everyone is starting to hear it because we have strong allies and everyone knows that the Stability Pact will change. In other words, we will get away from the suffocating rules μας Our debt must start to decrease and will decrease because our economy will grow but Greece will have to produce small – not negligible surpluses…

-Greece has traditional relations with Russia but this can not be an alibi for an invasion… Soon there will be a concert for Peace. But, I hope we see Ukrainian days in this concert because it means that we stand together and do not equate the perpetrator with the victim με We made the decisions because it was important that Greece is not an exception to the rule Ελλάδα Greece is a country in a region of the world and has experienced revisionism… These references should make us extremely careful. Respect and honor our alliances, so that if the non-genuine need to seek the help of our allies let everyone know that we are trustworthy…

“I saw President Putin two months before the invasion and by no means, and now that we have condemned this invasion on the harshest terms, I am in favor of the logic that the channels of communication must be open.”

-If multidimensional foreign policy is interpreted as skillful neutrality no… Sometimes we need to know where we stand and where we stand… We are not with the West we are also the West…

-Turkey has firm positions like us… In the main difference which is the delimitation of maritime zones does not separate us I would say abyss, but it has not been resolved for 40 years What we agreed with President Erdogan is that in a time of great geopolitical instability we live with our differences, even if we can not resolve them overnight…

– We are a member of the European Union, a member of NATO. We are a strong country. We have confidence. We know what our red lines are. We do not ask for anyone’s permission to strengthen the Armed Forces… The dialogue window is open as long as the door to challenges remains closed…