N. Iliopoulos: ‘Government supports notoriety and impoverishes society

“It is a political choice of the government instead of protecting the citizens, to cover the filthy profiteering”, stressed the spokesperson of SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance, Nassos Iliopoulos, in an interview on Friday night in the main news bulletin of “KRITI TV”.

“Based on a study by the GSEVEE Small Business Institute, for 50% of households the income ends on the 20th of the month”, he pointed out, commenting that “we have now returned to a situation where, not only the most vulnerable, but the vast majority of citizens are facing conditions of economic suffocation “.

He also noted that “the situation we are facing today did not start with the war in Ukraine, Greece has a negative record in the wholesale price of electricity since November.” “There are a number of central political choices of the Mitsotakis government that have brought us here,” Nassos Iliopoulos said, lower than in 2010 “.

“One measure that must be implemented immediately and has no fiscal footprint, is the increase of the minimum wage to 800 euros. When in 2019 the SYRIZA government increased the minimum wage by 27% for those under 25 and 11% in total, consumption “It was strengthened and public revenues improved,” said Nassos Iliopoulos.

Reiterating that “accuracy is the choice of the Mitsotakis government”, he stressed: “Mr. Mitsotakis does not even admit that energy companies currently have super profits”. “Anyone who sees the difference between retail prices and production prices, understands that in the last seven months the energy companies in the country have a profit of about 1.5 billion, what the Commission itself calls” skyrocketing “profits,” said Nasos Iliopoulos He added: “The fact that the government is refusing to tax these profits, that is, it is refusing a valuable revenue for the state budget, clearly means that it is covering the profiteering.”

“For our part, we call on the government to follow the example of France. France has chosen to put a ceiling on the prices of” French “PPC. On the contrary, Mr. Mitsotakis chose in the crisis to be the only country that privatized PPC “, said Nassos Iliopoulos. “It is clear that this government does not believe in public tools,” he said. He also stressed that “14 countries in the eurozone, the last being Cyprus, Portugal and Ireland have reduced the excise tax on fuel”. “Implementing this reduction in our country for a year, at the threshold allowed by the European Commission, would cost 1.5 billion euros, just as much as the privatization of private insurance costs,” he explained. “So it is not a question of possibilities, it is a question of choices”, commented Nasos Iliopoulos.

“The government’s refusal to reduce the EFC significantly affects small and medium-sized enterprises, including farmers. The rural world has a huge problem with production costs and this has an impact on food prices,” the spokesman said. of SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance. He added that “there is a need to reduce VAT on basic foodstuffs”.

“If the government does not take these measures now and the situation continues as it has in the coming months, then thousands of citizens will be impoverished and we risk too many padlocks,” he said.

Asked about the political developments and the aversion of Kyriakos Mitsotakis that leaves open the possibility of a multi-party government, he noted: “Mr. Mitsotakis actually admitted publicly that the government has a lot of damage.” “The country at the moment needs a progressive government with a specific program framework: settlement and remission of the pandemic debt, strengthening of the welfare state and especially of the NSS – in the pandemic the country has now overcome in losses per million inhabitants Italy and Belgium -, “increase of the minimum wage, substantial treatment of accuracy”, stressed Nassos Iliopoulos.

“On this basis, we call on the political and social forces to have progressive governance the next day,” he concluded.