“I do not think the pandemic is over. “We are facing a fourth wave which primarily concerns the unvaccinated”, said Kyriakos Mitsotakis in an interview with the Mega TV station about the pandemic.
Comparing the situation a year ago, he stressed that today 73% of adults and 63% of the population have been vaccinated and that lockdowns were the answer of all before vaccination.
“Now that we have the vaccine, we are not going to go lockdown. I am adamant for the simple reason that at the moment three out of four have done the right thing and it would be unfair to impose restrictions at a huge cost to tackle a minority problem today. “No European country follows this tactic,” he said.
At the same time, he stated that the framework of the measures announced yesterday emphasizes the increase of vaccinations and the correct communication about the importance of the third dose. He also stressed that the tests on the unvaccinated are not a punishment but for their protection and that Greece is a champion in Europe in conducting diagnostic tests. “We have more cases but a relatively low positivity index,” he said, adding that in terms of intubated numbers we are far from the level we found last March and April. In addition, he said that the battle of the first installment is not lost as every day 5,000-8,000 citizens take the step and overcome their phobias.
Regarding the criticism he receives from Alexis Tsipras for the entry of citizens into churches, Kyriakos Mitsotakis reminded that the government closed them last year and in 2020 we did not celebrate Easter. “Mr. Tsipras, after passing me fourteen generations and blaming me for all the wrongs in the pandemic, made a proposal for the mandatory test, the certificate in the churches. Churches are open places of worship. “Perhaps Mr. Tsipras has not felt the need to enter a church to light a candle, to find that there is no one to control him”, he continued, stating that there is an issue of politicization of the pandemic and spoke of a game for wild votes.
The Prime Minister reiterated that at the entrance to the churches many times there is no one and that if there was a way to implement such a thing he would be willing to discuss it.
He also said that the obligation of vaccinations has exhausted its limits when asked about the possibility of its extension to the security forces. “No other country has gone to expanded obligations because from one point onwards we are hitting a wall of reaction,” he added, reiterating that the government’s policy is to persuade at least half of those who have not been vaccinated to take the step. He appealed to those over 60 to be vaccinated or to be very careful.
For the estimates of 10,000 or more cases per day, he stressed that we should not measure the cases with 400,000 tests per day but the positivity and the pressure on the health system.
“At the moment we still have resilience in the health system and I am sure that we will be able to cope with this wave as well, because all the waves reach their peak at some point. “I consider that the measures we have taken today are absolutely sufficient”, he noted and assured that “now that we have the vaccines we will not close”.
In addition, he said he was annoyed when he heard “that we allegedly threw a white towel” and wondered what “common acceptance committee” meant. “Should we ask for party certificates from scientists? We talk to the best scientists in our country and abroad. “They do not always agree with each other but end up in one position,” he stressed.
No to “Green Go” on the backs of citizens
Referring to the Glasgow International Conference on Climate Change, the Prime Minister said that these conferences are the only opportunity for all countries to come together and enter into binding conditions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed that these decisions concern the future of our children and the planet and that many of the policies in our country stem from such commitments.
Regarding the de-ligation, he stated that “we are not going to make a” Green Transition “on the backs of the citizens” and that especially in Western Macedonia “we will create more and better jobs immediately”.
After a question, he said he did not know why Tayyip Erdogan did not come to Glasgow and said that environmental issues could be a field of understanding between the two countries.
Greece is not an aggressive country
Asked in the interview if we will see French frigates and fighters in the event that the Oruc Reis reappears below Crete, the Prime Minister replied that “the agreement we signed with France is clear – the mutual assistance clause stipulates that France has an obligation to assist us in the event that Turkey attacks us “stressing that for the first time the country is achieving something that has been an ardent desire for 40 years and which is also a small step closer to the possibility of some European countries being able to work together so that Europe can intervenes on its own where NATO or the United Nations do not wish.
Mr. Mitsotakis also referred to the extension of the defense agreement with the USA for 5 years and stated that “Greece is shielded even more in terms of agreements”.
He also stressed that Greece within two years has signed these two agreements, has signed agreements on the delimitation of maritime zones with Italy and Egypt, which shows that its commitment to international law is not a blank slate, has strengthened its alliances with countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, has a strategic relationship with Egypt with which it has agreed on cable interconnection, has bought 24 Rafal and has ordered French frigates.
“Greece is not an aggressive country. It has a strong deterrent effect “, he added.
Mr Mitsotakis also said he did not always agree with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Greek-Turkish. “I pushed her a lot to be stricter with Turkey. I can understand that if he wanted to play the role of the third, he had to be neutral. Only Germany is a member of the EU and NATO. “I can not accept the concept of neutrality from any European country,” he said.
He also noted that if we find a way with Turkey, it will not be due to a third party but to an honest dialogue and that he never cut off communication with Tayyip Erdogan.
Regarding the developments in Northern Macedonia and the Prespa agreement, he stated that “the agreements concern states and not governments”. He also said that he never fooled anyone and that he had said that from the moment the agreement is ratified he will implement it. For the time that will come the memoranda that are pending ratification in the Parliament, he answered “we will judge the appropriate time”.
There is a second increase in the minimum wage
To be precise, Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated that it is a global phenomenon and that inflation is expected to escalate from the beginning of 2022.
The prime minister said the government had spent and will spend more than 500m euros to keep electricity prices down and that without government intervention the bills would go up tenfold.
Speaking about PPC, he reminded that the government received it with the value of its share in one euro and today it is a strong company that can help consumers as well.
Mr. Mitsotakis also announced that he had instructed the Ministries of Finance and Rural Development to return the excise duty on agricultural oil for farmers who are in cooperatives and for young farmers.
He also stated that we will have a first increase of the minimum wage of 2% from 1.1.2022 and that he is determined for a second increase in 2022 after taking into account the real data of the economy and the resilience of businesses.
He noted that he would not like to see the unemployment rate drop and stressed that the most important intervention is for an unemployed person to get a job.
We will improve the performance of the Police
Asked about the operation of the Police, Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated that sometimes he thinks that we have a mentality problem and wondered if we are with the housewife or the burglar.
The Prime Minister stated that the Police is the extension of the state and the only one in charge of the exercise of legal violence.
“To think that this government is of authoritarianism and of law and order because the police are doing their job is a desperately minority view. “Our job is to make the police better,” he said, adding that he places great emphasis on police training.
Among other things, he noted: “Once a conversation was said by someone else who was sitting in this position, he had told the police that the state is you. It was wrongly said as it was said then, but it does not invalidate in any case to explain to the citizens that the monopoly of legal violence in a state governed by the rule of law belongs only to the Police. We will improve the performance of the Police – and far from the vast majority of citizens who consider the Police to be the instrument of state authoritarianism. “We have left these behind for half a century now.”
Elections at the end of four years
The Prime Minister Mr. Mitsotakis stated that the elections will be held at the end of the four years and noted:
“I believe in stable one-party governments. I believe in increased analog. ND will claim the autonomy from the very first ballot box with the simple analog one. “If we do not succeed, I consider it almost impossible to form a government and we will go to a second election.”
Asked about the scenarios of “progressive governance”, the prime minister advised “those who make such scenarios to do some simple arithmetic exercises” and explained: “Those who say that actually anticipate that the ND will be the first party. “Progressive governance” is a strategy of defeat, it is how we will succeed as a second party to form a government. The beans do not come out. If they came out it would be a government that would not move the electorate too much. I do not need to personify you now the figure that I imagine would rule the country in this case. “
He added that the dilemmas in the elections will be very clear, between four years with an autonomous ND government and the previous 4 years with a government of Mr. Tsipras. “Citizens will choose stability and development or insecurity and adventure,” he said.
Asked if he was afraid of something unexpected in the pandemic, he said the government had managed it unpredictably. “I am not a futurist. “We have gained confidence that we can deal with unforeseen situations, whether it is Evros, the Turkish provocation in the Aegean, or the pandemic that is Lernaean Hydra,” he replied.
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