The Mitsotakis-Tsipras agenda in the budget debate

By Antonis Anzoletou

What do Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Alexis Tsipras want? To enter with the right hand in 2023. And from the latest polls, before the time runs out, to gain several more points. The prime minister wishes to maintain the “scissors” with New Democracy by expanding, if possible, the air of victory he has. The official opposition leader wants to show that the climate is changing in his favor. The budget battle is the best chance for both to win impressions and their “weapons” have been carefully prepared by the party staffs.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis

The financial staff has informed Kyriakos Mitsotakis with the appropriate notes about the additional fiscal space that has been created with the aim of supporting the citizens. What is the surprise prepared by the prime minister in today’s budget debate? Neither the Maximos Palace nor Piraeus Street betray the great secret. The only thing that has been leaked is that it is a measure that will support incomes, it will not concern a specific social group, but it will have a wider scope. It is very likely to spread to the middle class.

One of the measures likely to be announced by the Prime Minister concerns a food pass for the first quarter of 2023. Its granting will be made possible by the taxation of the surplus profits of the refineries, which are estimated to be able to yield around 600 million euros. The aim is for the money to be returned to society to complement the “Household Basket”. The information even wants this to be paid not only to the economically weaker, but based on income criteria and to households that belong to higher income brackets and also suffer heavy burdens from the increase in products.

The priorities of the budget are summarized in the following points: continuation and strengthening of measures to support society, achieving fiscal balance, maintaining the development course. From the Plenary floor, late on Saturday afternoon, the prime minister will make it clear that he is not going to enter into a bidding war for benefits with Alexis Tsipras, whom he will accuse of promising everything to everyone, free of charge, dangerous and adventurous, as he did in 2014.

The prime minister’s speech will focus on three main axes.

– He will take stock of the government’s work, talking about “a four-year successful economic policy” despite multiple crises, comparing the period 2015-2019 with the country that has been upgraded at all levels today and enjoys international trust.

– It will describe the framework of the policies for the coming year focusing on their social sign.

– He will specify his vision for the next four years. Fair development for all, with further strengthening of citizens’ incomes and an emphasis on youth and health.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis, as he has been doing lately, is expected to once again raise the dilemmas of the ballot box by insisting on the independence of the ND in the second electoral contest. He will ask for the support of the citizens from the first Sunday, so that the message that will be given is strong and stability is maintained in the country. The prime minister’s aim is to highlight the lack of a realistic alternative governance proposal from SYRIZA and the strategy of Nikos Androulakis to become a “monitor” of SYRIZA.

In Herodos Attikou they are well aware that the Plenary will be preceded by the speech of Alexis Tsipras who will have launched a fierce attack on the government for surveillance, QatarGate, Eva Kaili, as well as for the case of Maria Spyrakis. The prime minister will emphasize that the government is the first that does not want any shadow to be left and the judiciary is already doing its job. With regard to the corruption case in the European Parliament, he will point out that the reports about the “Trojan horse of the ND” constitute “trivialities” and “comic-tragic” complaints by SYRIZA and PASOK, which are seeking post-election cooperation. Their identification, after all, is a tactic that has been followed for the last time.

Alexis Tsipras

The budget conflict for Alexis Tsipras will have a double aim. The wide oppositional field for “hard rock” with Qatar Gate, Eva Kaili and the follow-ups – with possibly new publications – will not remain unexploited. From the moment in Koumoundourou they believe that the government is beginning to be pressured by the developments, Alexis Tsipras is expected to emphasize cases that have to do with corruption. A case of wiretapping by the Mitsotakis government and a European scandal in which a Greek MEP who belonged to the socialist group but supported the current majority is allegedly involved, is the “leaven” on which he will base his attack on the majority. Emphasis will also be placed on the new case with Maria Spyrakis and her exclusion from the Thessaloniki ballot of New Democracy.

In the budget debate, according to the regulation, there is no right of deputation of the official opposition leader and for this reason Alexis Tsipras will have to “share” all the issues of the economy in his speech.

The new generation of bad loans being created, the concentration of wealth by the banks, the oligopolistic interests, the impoverishment of the society, the profiteering of the energy companies, the accuracy of the basic goods and the fuel will be at the forefront of the former prime minister’s positioning. He is also expected to accuse the government of legislating a bankruptcy code aimed solely at liquidating citizens’ assets.

Mr. Tsipras will refer to his party’s opposition program, which, among other things, includes:
– Substantially dealing with the accuracy crisis, by imposing a real ceiling on the price, but also on the profit margin in energy and taxation of the real surplus profits.

– Reduction of VAT on fuel and VAT on food.

– Increase in the minimum wage and indexation of public and private sector wages.

– Abolition of the pretense fee for professionals and return to pensioners of those who are entitled: retrospective and the 13th pension.

– Cancellation of anti-social laws, such as the privatization of supplementary insurance.

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