The commitment that what we lost from the fires will be rebuilt and those affected will be compensated was undertaken by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis from the floor of the Parliament during his speech on the bill for the vote of emigrants. At the same time, he noted that we are at war with the fires and the consequences of climate change, while he emphasized that in the face of the fury of nature, no measure will ever be enough, while no human life was lost.

Watch his speech:

The prime minister, before starting to speak on the bill, made an extensive reference to the fires that are burning the country.

Today’s anniversary of the restoration of the Republic finds us struggling with the consequences of the climate crisis. Despite the encroachment of the fire, no lives were lost, proving that in the face of nature’s fury, no measure will ever be enough. This summer finds us with unrelenting heat, strong winds, in Rhodes we have persistent winds that exceed 6 Beaufort for days. In Rhodes after the 2nd day when the fire had shown some signs of subsidence, the fire made new fronts. Tens of thousands of people were transported in an organized and timely manner to safe places. We are grateful to the fire brigade, civil protection, armed forces, police, volunteers for their self-sacrifice. For the next few weeks we must be on constant alert. We are at war, we will rebuild what we lost we will compensate those who were hurt. Rhodes faced a problem in 10% of its beds. The report will come complete when we do our overall report. The climate crisis is already here, it will manifest itself everywhere in the Mediterranean with greater disasters, the government must not be satisfied with whatever progress we have achieved, but adapt quickly to the new conditions. Climate change also requires culture change for everyone. No one can say that the state is absent from this test. Instead, it was present.

-To consider where we would be if changes had not been made. So we are content with the evacuations. 112 is precious, it has saved the lives of thousands of people, our first concern must be to protect human life, This is what we learned from the unspeakable tragedy in Mati.

– The further away the emigrants are from their homeland, said Nikos Kazantzakis, the more they love it, continued Mr. Mitsotakis, speaking on the bill for the removal of obstacles to the voting of emigrants.

-Since 2019, the government has tried twice to give the right to those registered in the electoral rolls, but we were forced to make compromises and the first law we passed set many bureaucratic conditions. A great national step was unfortunately missed. Today the conditions are ripe for the step to become a leap. It is a patriotic move, a profoundly modernizing initiative.

– The initiative responds to a democratic request of the region and a timeless request of the diaspora. The vast majority of people support this initiative. Since 1975, the Constitution provides for the possibility for citizens to vote from their place of residence. It is also an act of social justice.

– Our debt also concerns the young people who left the country during the crisis years. We want them to be active Greek citizens, wherever they live, with the door always open to return home.

– It was heard from most of the parties, to congratulate the parties that, despite their individual objections, supported this initiative. I want to talk about the 3 denials that still appear.