The wager in the upcoming elections is explaining to voters that “the ballot boxes will be empty once again,” New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Sunday on the morning television programme “Kalimera” presented by Giorgos Aftias on Skai channel.
“We start from scratch but we are not in a political vacuum. The citizens sent certain very clear messages in the elections of May 21,” he added. New Democracy’s leader said that he was not surprised by the result but that the size of ND’s margin of victory “obliges me to be even bolder in the changes we must make”.
“I believe that we can also convince the citizens who did not vote for us in the May 21 elections and increase our percentage further,” he added, asking for a “secure parliamentary majority” that will allow him to make big changes. Noting that the “fantasy” of simple proportional representation vanished in the May 21 elections, he dismissed PASOK as a party that was only seeking to be main opposition, and stressed that elections were held to vote for a government.
On economic policy, he said that growth will continue if the government continues to cut taxes and the ‘growth surplus’ could then be “paid back”.
Mitsotakis also commented on faith, in response to parties targeting religious voters, saying that “faith should not be mixed with politics” and talking of “tiny parties” that seek to exploit religious feeling.
“We respect the separate roles of the Church and have proved this during our governance but we do not seek help from the Church,” he said, while he also spoke of attempts by Turkiye to “instrumentalise” the Muslim minority in Thrace, specifically mentioning two SYRIZA candidates in the region, and saying that the political parties must cooperate to end such practices.
During the interview, Mitsotakis unveiled plans to create a “ministry for families” that will deal with family and welfare policy in order to address Greece’s ageing population, his plans to deal with high prices through better wages and fewer taxes, his intention to solve the problems with the performance of the ambulance service, while he also announced plans to pass laws that will oblige political parties to submit their programmes for costing.
