The recent polls, the issue of health and the proposal for a local currency submitted by SYRIZA executives, were among other things the focus of the television interview of the secretary of the Political Committee of the New Democracy, Pavlos Marinakis, on SKAI and the show “Today”.

In his initial statement, the secretary of the ND Party said: “When the pre-election period had started, I remember that we said, the prime minister also said, that because after many years, two administrations, two proposals of prime ministers are compared, essentially the truth itself, the reality itself will dispel myths or unsubstantiated theories. What we see, then, is Kyriakos Mitsotakis talking about how he will increase the salaries of others, because he increased them. About how he will cut other taxes too, because he cut them.

About how he will digitize the state more, fortify the country more, conclude more agreements. It will give more incentives for cheap housing to young people. It will reduce the consequences of the demographic problem and with specific interventions, by increasing leave for new mothers, to increase benefits. An overall program that also answers the big problems of the past four years, such as the health issue, which we all endured together with the citizens. He talks about specific upgrading of hospitals, health centers.

Citizens ask the same questions of all of us. But some listen to the citizens’ questions like us and Kyriakos Mitsotakis and we try to answer them. And some respond to their imaginations, they hear “voices of the past”.

Pavlos Marinakis continued by saying that “On the other side we have an Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the official opposition, who on Monday impersonates Andreas Papandreou, on Tuesday he impersonates Donald Trump and on Wednesday he remembers the statue of Velouchiotis.

And his right to do that, but you know, I hear about Mr. Jackal all the time and they say, okay kid, he said something at a conference, a sentence somewhere. Mr. Tsipras ruled the country for 4.5 years. So he had the ability to form governments. So he chose two people as finance ministers. Mr. Varoufakis and Mr. Tsakalotos. One speaks of “Demetrius” and the other speaks of local coins. They are not two presidents of local organizations of SYRIZA. They are two people that Mr. Tsipras himself chose.

Because Mr. Tsipras is again a candidate for prime minister, he is not someone else. So this man rated these two. And you know something? It is not a proposal that we “throw away” like that. If someone had come to us, at a conference, anywhere, after all, they are democratic processes and had said about local currencies, there was no way he would be a candidate with New Democracy, we wouldn’t even be discussing it. We would not rate him as a candidate. A man who risks patients’ medicines, vaccines in case of a health crisis, citizens’ deposits, the course of the economy”.

Then, responding to the claims of the representative of SYRIZA that in Preveza the EKAV Mesopotamos and the Health Center do not operate under the responsibility of the ND, Pavlos Marinakis replied: “In my question to the competent Minister of State, what Mr. Barkas says is not true, no health center has been closed. And in fact, we also have new ambulances at this particular health center. In the health that Mr. Barkas points to, they had funding of 3.8 billion euros a year and we have 1.4 billion euros more.”

The ND secretary also emphasized: “I will tell what other lies Mr. Barkas told us, because he only told lies. So in health they had 3.8 billion euros in funding, we have 5.2 billion euros. They had 550 ICUs, we have more than twice as many ICUs. They had 100,000 health workers, we have 108,000 health workers, 8,000 more in the balance because we hired 14,000 and we also had the departures.

In health we have progressed and some have already started to renovate or reconstruct 80 hospitals and 150 health centers.

He also said something about PEGA. The complete opposite of what he said he says the conclusion and they don’t even know how to read and they are fooling the people. He says that there is no connection between the prime minister and all that is reported about the surveillance. He said about Mr. Jackal. Mr. Tsakalotos did not remove the country from the memorandums. Mr. Tsakalotos imposed 29 taxes on us freelancers and Greek citizens. Mr. Tsakalotos made 18 reductions in pensions”