N. Iliopoulos: The measures announced by Mr. Mitsotakis continue to subsidize the notoriety

“The measures announced yesterday by Mr. Mitsotakis in no way overturn the situation. They are measures that continue to subsidize the notoriety,” said SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance spokesman Nassos Iliopoulos, speaking on the radio station “Sto Kokkino 105.5 FM “.

“When you do not intervene in electricity or gas prices and just cover part of the cost to consumers from the public budget, you are essentially using public money to subsidize corporate profits,” he explained.

“After Kyriakos Mitsotakis himself spoke yesterday about the companies’ super profits, the question arises why he does not impose an extraordinary tax on these profits”, commented Mr. Iliopoulos, noting that “companies in energy have profits of more than 1 billion . lately”. “By taxing these profits, the government could directly finance the reduction of VAT on basic goods.”

He also stressed that “ND continues not to impose a ceiling on energy prices, a measure which is now included in the toolbox of the Commission, while SYRIZA has proposed it for 6-7 months.”

“Also, since October, there is a recommendation in the toolbox of the Commission to reduce the Excise Tax on fuel. A number of countries have done so, with the latest examples being Cyprus, Portugal and Ireland,” his spokesman said. SYRIZA added: “The fact that the ND government chooses not to do so means that it chooses to support those who speculate.”

“It is, in fact, somewhat contradictory for Mr. Mitsotakis to talk about” measures measured in line with reality “and to give 13 euros a month for gasoline, at the same time that the blue executives of HEDNO give themselves a 60,000 euro bonus” , he said characteristically. “At a time when people can not make ends meet, the government has in PPC people who get 360,000 a year, it has increased the general managers from 7 to 15, the directors from 27 to 105 and the assistant directors from 60 to 250. “So, what is the reality for Mr. Mitsotakis?”, He underlined.

Referring to yesterday’s disgust of the Prime Minister that “wages are low”, he noted: “This was said by the man, who for three years now has effectively put a ceiling on wages, continues to deny the increase of the minimum wage.” “For our part, we declare that wages must rise and prices must fall in order for society to remain upright,” he added.

Responding to ND’s allegations about the risk of fiscal derailment, Mr. Iliopoulos stressed: “By raising the minimum wage to 800 euros, public finances will gain, as was done in the last 11% increase made by SYRIZA in 2018.” “But also putting a ceiling on energy prices means that the money the government is now giving to subsidize corporate profits can go elsewhere to support society.”

Regarding the recent proposal of the president of SYRIZA, Alexis Tsipras, to set up a committee in the Parliament, which will control the management of the resources of the Recovery Fund, he pointed out: “There are critical resources for unemployment, amounting to 1 billion, which the government is preparing to give in training programs “. “The last such program he did was the ‘propeller scroll’, while on the other hand there is the path followed by the SYRIZA government, implementing an unemployment program with 5,500 young scientists in the public sector,” he said.

Finally, he underlined that “the policy of the Mitsotakis government is a pandemic within the pandemic, from these neo-liberal policies a specific bloc of interests gains”. “However, from the contact we have recently with the society, we see that the situation is changing and the conditions are being formed so that things in the country go differently”, concluded the SYRIZA spokesman.