In an interview with Alpha, the government representative, Pavlos Marinakis, expressed his position that the prime minister responded to the major demands of the farmers, namely the increased costs of oil and electricity.

Mr. Marinakis emphasized that the government listens to the needs of society without derailing the budget. “It is another time that the government listens to the needs of society and social groups and without to proclaim more than he can do and without derailing public finances, he responds to them,” he said characteristically.

Enumerating the total of 6 interventions announced earlier on Friday by the Prime Minister, the government spokesman noted that the government has exhausted the margins in relation to the government’s interventions for the demands of the farmers assuring that the government will continue to follow a stimulus policy of disposable income.

The following is the full interview of the government representative, Pavlos Marinakis:

JOURNALIST: We heard the prime minister announce a package of measures over 200 million in total. The first reactions from the blocks, Mr. Marinaki, we have no official positions, are not positive. The farmers appear not to be satisfied and say they will continue the agitation.

P. MARINAKIS: Look, first of all let us recall that the prime minister analyzed the measures thoroughly and was very specific in what he said. It is another time that the government listens to the needs of society and social groups and without announcing more than it can do and without derailing public finances it responds to them. And I think today the prime minister, in continuation of what happened in the previous days, answered the vast majority of the basic requests of the farmers in their big requests, that is, the increased costs of oil and electricity. We have for the third time a refund of the excise duty of eighty two million euros, it is one of their main perennial requests and then…

JOURNALIST: Full tax exemption on oil and fuel.

P. MARINAKIS: The return of the excise tax is a big request. Basically, saving money, reducing costs and oil are among the main requests. We have a 10% discount on electricity.

JOURNALIST: Let’s go to the result. The measures announced by the prime minister are not being accepted with satisfaction, the demonstrations are not stopping. What happens from here on out? And the main question is whether the government has the ability to put its hand in the pocket more, offer more and satisfy the farmers.

P. MARINAKIS: Having answered both the questions of assistance and the questions of electricity and many other things beyond the 10% discount for the critical months, and in matters of regulating the electricity, for the prohibition of interruption for Thessaly and all the other years, we have to declare it is clear that the margins have been exhausted in relation to the interventions of the government on the demands of the farmers. We fully understand that both the farmers and all the Greek citizens, because it is not only the demands of the farmers, due to the many imported crises, a situation that is not only experienced by our country, by all of Europe after everything that has happened recent years. We realize that we must continue to implement our overall policy of income stimulation, a policy that will be implemented based on our program of strict controls.

JOURNALIST: I’m interrupting you. At this time we have the meeting, the pan-agricultural one in essence, where decisions are made. Probably, the producers there are listening to us. You clearly say that, so far it was. The government, even if the farmers are not satisfied, is not going to proceed with new benefits.

P. MARINAKIS: It was a very organized and coordinated effort, because this government after 2019, like all the other governments of the states that managed crises, had to manage many crises. Lots of surprises. No one could predict either the pandemic or the inflationary crisis…

JOURNALIST: You are not answering me.

P. MARINAKIS: No, I answer and say that the result of this effort is these measures announced today by the prime minister, so these are the measures, there is nothing more. This was what the government could do based on the public finances, the fiscal data of the country. It’s a given that we’re going to run into even more controls on what farmers call “field to shelf” and that’s not just about farmers, it’s about consumers. We will continue the controls, we will devote ourselves even more to dealing with the illegal Greekization of products. It is a given that our program will be implemented as it has been done all these years. But those were the measures.

JOURNALIST: You are clear that for the Government these were the measures, there are no others, and the question is if a decision is made to proceed and escalate the mobilizations, we have a weekend ahead of us, if the farmers decide to close the National Road, that will allow the Government or not?

P. MARINAKIS: I think that, with data and what the Prime Minister announced today from the floor of the Parliament and everything that was announced by the co-competent ministers, in the last few days, we will not reach this point.

JOURNALIST: If we arrive?

P. MARINAKIS: In relation to what is happening in other countries, we have a brave support package. We believe that through dialogue and through the satisfaction of many requests, the situation will defuse and in any case, we must also look at the big picture, which is to avoid the suffering of the citizens and this is a top priority of the Government.

JOURNALIST: So will the Government allow the closure of the National Road or not?

P. MARINAKIS: We want to avoid getting to such an unpleasant point, we believe that we will not, because the requests of each professional group are important, but it is also very important to ensure the rights of all citizens and has a duty to do so the government. We believe that an honest relationship that has started since 2019 and with farmers, with important measures that have been implemented at the level of tax reduction and much more so as not to waste your time, this relationship is a strong foundation, despite the difficulties that we are going through, to go further down and see in the immediate future, by implementing our program, how we will have even better days.

JOURNALIST: I believe that the Government will not allow the closure of the National Road…

P. MARINAKIS: …it is the duty of the Government to protect the rights of all citizens.

JOURNALIST: On the issue of same-sex couples. The Church is pressuring MPs of all parties officially and unofficially with letters sent to Parliament as well. I want to ask if this is not Church intervention in political reality, then what is?

P. MARINAKIS: First of all, will you allow me a comment, I feel it is necessary, after I think the many questions we have answered on this subject, as we have an obligation. I think it is an issue for which we have answered most of the questions, it has been analyzed more, possibly than is appropriate in a Bill, important, because there are many other very serious problems that citizens face and with significant interventions the Government is trying to deal with . But to answer what you are asking me, the Church has every right to express its positions, they are absolutely respected. It has played an important role in supporting society. Beyond that, however, the vote of the deputies is obviously according to conscience, based on their own conscience, each deputy will vote on this Bill as well. In fact, in our own Parliamentary Group, following a time-honored tradition on issues of rights, there is no party discipline, we are optimistic that an important Bill will be passed. We have made it clear, we have made it clear what (the bill) does and what it does not do and in fact many of them, the well-known propaganda said, it does not do. We are talking about civil marriage, equality in civil marriage and recognition of the rights of children, who are already being raised by two men or two women. A man has been able to adopt a child on his own since 1946. It is important that citizens know clearly what the Government wants to do and that we all move forward together.

JOURNALIST: Let’s see how they will proceed and how they will not proceed in all this. We will go to the voting, of course. Let’s also go to the issue of occupations in schools. I want to ask, what is your feeling. What information does the government have, what sense does it have? I don’t see the occupations being broken. And on the other hand, having the students take exams, like they take online, without the universities of our country actually functioning, I don’t know if it’s a solution.

MARINAKIS: Look and see. With the many problems, which still need to be solved in this country, 50 years after the post-colonialism, it is finally proven that in one of the biggest pathologies and perhaps the biggest pending of the country in relation to the other countries, it is proven that There is hope. If someone had told me when I was a law student in Komotini and I had also missed a semester, why then we could not agree, like all the other years in the basics, that a government after some years would legislate non-state universities, of a non-profit nature and a very important bill for public universities, because 70% of the articles of this bill concern the strengthening of the public university. In fact, public universities will receive 1 billion and they will get freedoms that they have not had for many years. So this bill will be passed, the exams will be secured for the students, this is the second big goal, just as important as passing the government’s law.

JOURNALIST: Since you have been a student, of course, you must agree that the purpose of universities is not to give exams. The purpose of universities is to teach students and with closed universities students are not taught, otherwise all universities would be by correspondence and we would take exams…

MARINAKIS: We will not hide our words. I think that although we have traveled a very significant distance in a country where legality existed everywhere and there were exceptions unfortunately for many years only in universities, it has become a sad phenomenon of many decades. We have come a long way, many squatters have been evacuated. Both the 2 operations in Metsovio and Aristotle of the last days, but also many others. I referred in detail to the last update of the political editors. We definitely need to do more. And we will say it clearly. There is no legal occupation. And unfortunately there are parliamentary parties that, due to their ideologies, it is as if they have something left, as if they have been repressed all these years to say it. Be careful though. Caution. What do we want? We want, first of all, not to throw water into the mill of the provocation of the left and the broader left that invests in chaos. We won’t do it for them. We will ensure the examination for the students. Of course, we will do whatever it takes to make the eviction of a squatter not even a news item and to bring to justice not only in a university, anywhere in the country, anyone who commits an illegal act. I say it again, there is still a way to go, a road has been traveled that has not been traveled for decades.

JOURNALIST: I believe that you find that the squatters are not legal, after all, it is the law that finds this…

MARINAKIS: It is good for the rectors and those who are responsible, realizing the difficulty of handling many times, to call the authorities and enforce the law.