Tour of Corinth with the regional governor candidate Dimitris Ptocho of Peloponnese carried out by Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday.

The prime minister asked the voters to support Dimitris Ptochos, who “has a vision, a plan and above all is a person who can work well with us”.

The following is the full greeting of Kyriakos Mitsotakis:

“Thank you for this warm applause, but I would like an even stronger applause for the next Regional Governor of Peloponnese, Dimitris Ptochos.

Every time I come here in Corinth, I receive a lot of positive energy. We are here to continue our work to make Greece stronger, to improve the economy, to improve wages, to overcome great difficulties, because we faced many this summer as well.

We are here, however, also to be able to cooperate at any time with worthy local lords, so that we can implement our plans together.

I have known Dimitris Ptochos for many years. I personally vouch for his integrity and competence. And I want you all to support him to be the next District Governor. He is a worthy man, comes from a self-governing family, has a very successful career in the private sector, but I know that his heart always beat in the field of political action.

He has a vision, he has a plan and above all he is a person who can work well with us, so that together we can implement the ambitious plan we have for the entire Peloponnese and especially for Corinthia.

We will put it into practice together and this is also the reason that New Democracy gave clear political support to all the candidates for Regional Governors who are in politics today and claim the support of the citizens with the anointing of New Democracy. Precisely because we need partners at the Regional Administration level to be able to use in the best possible way the most resources that this government secured for the Peloponnese Regional Administration. And they are important.

To be able to work together on large projects, but also on small interventions in everyday life, to be able to support citizens together when they are faced with natural disasters.

A while ago, before I came here today to address Dimitris Ptochos, I was a little further away, in the more mountainous Corinthia, to meet farmers who were tested by the recent hailstorms.

I also committed to them that as we have done in the last two years, ELGA, with the support of the state budget, will support our farmers to overcome this difficulty as well.

But we could not have achieved this support, friends, if our economy was not doing better. If we could not produce strong surpluses. You remember, before the election I spoke to you about exactly this: how the great economic performance of the country is connected with the improvement of the daily life of each and every one of you. The farmer will get support from ELGA precisely because the budget is going well.

We are in a position today, for the first time after 14 years, to significantly increase salaries in the State. I told you before the election, we put it into practice with our first bill. Let’s increase pensions again, more than 3%. To support our fellow citizens who have needs. To unfreeze the three years much earlier than we had planned.

All these are the practical results of a concerted policy. But today we are not here to talk about the economic performance of the government.

We are here to support Dimitris Ptochos. I want to repeat again that you will have a worthy District Governor next Sunday or at the latest the following Sunday.

I want all of you to support him so that we can add one more electoral victory to our unbroken streak. It will continue in the regional elections. I am asking you to welcome the next Regional Governor of Peloponnese together.”

Dimitris Ptochos: New sustainable development model, let’s finally take advantage of the advantages of this place

“We are planning a new sustainable development model, to finally exploit the advantages of this place, with the environment, the primary sector and all the needs and demands of civil society as the backbone. Together we create a single identity for our Region. To make the Peloponnese known to the whole world. With a comprehensive five-year branding promotion plan for our products and tourism”, noted the candidate for Regional Mayor, Dimitris Ptochos.

“We pay all subsidies in advance according to the standards of European Union programs. This is how we will create new jobs. This is how we will create well-paid jobs. This is how we will keep our children here. This is how the Peloponnese will move forward and together we can succeed.

Together we modernize. We digitize the services of the Peloponnese Region. We include them all in gov.gr and abolish the reimbursable fees where possible. We are modernizing infrastructure and investing in technology. We are strengthening the road safety of the provincial road network, with an emphasis on high-traffic areas. We are upgrading telecommunications everywhere, by strengthening broadband and networks”, emphasized Mr. Ptochos.

“Together we envision and prepare a new water resources management plan. Our goal by 2028 is not to waste a single drop of rainwater. Together we prepare, because the climate crisis does not wait. We are launching the Civil Protection Regional Operational Center, a project already in the Recovery Fund. We are creating a Climate Crisis Impact Monitoring Center. We are establishing a Forest Protection Association of the Peloponnese Region with the participation of all 26 of our Municipalities, following the standards of the SPAH of Attica.

The state will support the producers – Fast disbursement of compensations

Earlier, Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited a vineyard in the village of Kryoneri, which was heavily damaged by the heavy rains and hailstorms that hit the area in September. Afterwards, Kyriakos Mitsotakis had the opportunity to talk to citizens, where he referred to the provisions to support the primary sector and affected producers:

“I want to assure you that the Greek state will stand by the producers who have been tested for another year by the effects of the climate crisis” noted the Prime Minister and President of the ND, stressing that in terms of short-term interventions “there is no other option than the speedy disbursement of the relevant compensations”.

“This money will be paid, and it will be paid because the government supports ELGA above and beyond its own financial capabilities. We are able to do this precisely because our economy is doing much better than it was four years ago. In this way you see how the performance of the economy is connected, the investment grade that you hear and say now “very nice, what difference does this make to me in my own daily life?”. The difference it makes is that the Greek economy today has the ability, the fiscal strength, to support ELGA, so that we can compensate our producers”, emphasized Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

The Prime Minister also referred to the need to adapt agricultural activity to the new conditions caused by climate change. “Something has changed in the climate. And that which has changed must be the object of study and must be the object of possibly more drastic interventions, which go as far as the restructuring of crops so that the experts can indicate to us, in the new climatic conditions, which are those productions which they will thrive and give you the best possible income,” he said.

“I am a person who believes a lot in the primary sector, believes in the power of the Greek farmer, believes especially in the young children who want to stay in their place, in their land to cultivate, to produce the excellent products that Corinthia has always produced land”, underlined Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

“Let me tell you that, from the Region’s side, we are here to do our best to be able to take the Peloponnese Region as far forward as possible, to make it a model region”, underlined the candidate Region Governor Dimitris Ptochos.

“We know very well the problems you face in all the Regional Units. Many of them are the same, such as the management of natural resources and especially water, both for irrigation and for water supply. We know very well the needs that exist in all Municipalities. We will do our best, so that we can as soon as possible reach a point where not even a drop of rainwater will be lost”, added Dimitris Ptochos.

“In our model, certainly, the primary sector has a leading role. We must create synergies and added value with other sectors, in which the Peloponnese has a lot to offer, such as tourism, services, the huge cultural reserve we have”, stressed the candidate Regional Governor of Peloponnese.

On his part, the President of the Organization, Andreas Lykourentzos, stood for the support that the government has ensured for ELGA.

“If we met your expectations, it is because the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and his government, decisively supported ELGA. The organization was strengthened – legally, I will emphasize, because there are some issues with European regulations – with 400 million and we were able to pay compensations of 1.1 billion euros,” he said.