The three big milestones of May for K. Mitsotakis

Of Dimitris Gatsiou

The government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis is now entering one of the most critical turning points in its almost three-year course.

With the surging waves of price increases and increases creating “storm” conditions for the budgets of millions of households and businesses, in the face of a crisis that τια hits the whole society horizontally, actions to reduce the impact on the daily lives of citizens are a field of daily exercises. and internal meetings at the Maximos Palace and financial staff.

And the. Unknown in the multifactorial equation of the crisis requires not only “safety cushions”, in order to have continuity in the levels of support, but also in-depth movements, in order not to question the fiscal balance.

Against this backdrop and with the government having… already fired… the heavy paper of the second, in 2022, increase in the minimum wage, the month of May includes for the prime minister basic internal and external milestones, which are completed with the Extraordinary Summit of the “27” leaders in Brussels.

It remains to be seen whether the European family will turn to common answers to a common problem, with southern countries pushing for solutions for millions of consumers and the “sparing” northern partners taking a hard line. in possible policies, which will put barriers in the pan-European rally of precision.

One reason, however, for milestones related either to the internal front and the support strategy, or to the general energy “game” and the geostrategic position of Greece on the map of the Eastern Mediterranean, these are three.

– Starting from the three days from 6 to 8 May, Mr. Mitsotakis, from the podium of the 14th Congress of New Democracy, is expected to strengthen the momentum of the “blue” social agenda, in addition to the messages for its government work of the previous three years, but also of the political dilemmas, in view of the next elections, whenever they take place.

According to information, in the context of the 14th Congress, the Prime Minister will develop targeted shielding interventions for specific social groups. One such example is the housing policy for young couples, which is under the… microscope of Maximos and is receiving its final characteristics, in view of the next wave of announcements, which will take place in early May.

-The next big milestone next month will be Mr. Mitsotakis’s trip to Washington and the meeting with the President of the United States of America.

Mr Mitsotakis and Mr Biden will meet on May 16 at the White House with President Biden on a full-blown deal, which is expected to add further value to the two countries’ already excellent relations. .

At the forefront of the talks that the two leaders will have, in a context of global liquidity and change, will be the close Athens-Washington cooperation, developments on the Ukrainian front, energy security, defense cooperation, investment, but also the situation. in the wider region of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Greece, aiming for an immediate exit from the enhanced surveillance regime and gaining an investment grade by 2023, is building an investment-friendly environment, which the prime minister is expected to bring to the forefront of his contacts in the United States, as well as will have talks with financial agents and representatives of funds, emitting another signal for investments in our country.

-At a time parallel to the movements on the front of energy self-sufficiency and security, the demand has to do with the ever-increasing needs of the citizens, in a period of intense liquidity and anxiety.

In this regard, the only sure thing is that the Maximos Palace will constantly feed the pool of support measures, awaiting the decisions of Brussels on what Athens calls “a common European response to a common European problem.”

And the next Summit, on May 30 and 31, is the third big milestone for Mr. Mitsotakis. “No national budget in any European country can lift the burdens caused by the explosion in the energy market which, unfortunately, is constantly ignited by the fire of the Russian invasion.

It is, therefore, absolutely necessary at the next Summit to take measures to strengthen the productive fabric of our states but also of all European citizens, of households that after the pandemic are besieged by international price increases.

“At this time, too, our decisions must be based on data that reflects real needs and realistic possibilities,” he said, as the government prepares its own national plan for electricity accuracy. will last longer and will “embrace” as much as possible, more social strata, with the most vulnerable at the top.