With a statement in which he points out “some of the positive developments in our country in recent years” replied the government representative Pavlos Marinakis to the post of the president of SYRIZA Stefanos Kasselakis “maybe at some point he will articulate even a half-costed counter-proposal” as he said. At the same time he pointed out that “the last thing the country needs is to go back to times when ‘wizards apprentices’ asked everyone everything.”

“It was with great pleasure that we saw Mr. Kasselakis take a few minutes break from his vacation, to make another post that reminds of the old “good” SYRIZA of the accusatory, populist discourse, without specific counter-proposals and indeed the hard core version of 2012 – 2015. An opportunity, therefore, to remind him of some of the positive developments in our country in recent years, maybe at some point he will articulate even a half-costed counter-proposal,” said Mr. Marinakis in particular and added, referring to the government project:

“This government has increased the minimum wage from €650 in 2019 to €830 in 2024 and we are moving step by step towards delivering on our commitment to a minimum wage of €950 and an average wage of €1,500 by 2027.

  • We increased public sector wages for the first time in 14 years. Civil servants saw more than an extra paycheck a year in their bank accounts.
  • Pensions have started to rise for the first time in 12 years, and are now paid in 2 to 3 months at most rather than 3 years.
  • Our policies really support new mothers. We pay benefits of around 10,000 euros with birth and maternity benefits.
  • We spread a safety net of 10 billion euros over households and businesses in the energy crisis.
  • Unemployment in our country fell in June to 9.6%, the lowest level in 15 years, having created 400,000 better paying jobs with the policy we are implementing. In the first four years, more than 50 taxes and contributions were reduced. In the second four-year period, we continue the same policy by increasing the tax-free allowance for families with children and making permanent a series of temporarily reduced taxes.
  • Greece’s growth rate is 4 times higher than the Eurozone average, while our country is first in the EU. in the increase in GDP per capita.
  • We implement, after many decades, a substantial social policy with social tourism programs worth tens of millions annually.
  • In a state where the word “control” was unknown, in the last year more than 35,000 businesses have been checked and 19.6 million fines have been imposed, while the targeted measures are paying off as – according to the IELKA survey – price reductions are recorded for a another month”.

Mr. Marinakis, addressing Mr. Kasselakis, noted that all these are some of what happened in Greece, within 5 years of unprecedented global crises, and concluded:

“And they were done on a costed plan, without charging future generations.

It is a given that much more is needed to further increase the disposable income of citizens and we are moving in this direction.

But the last thing the country needs is to go back to the days when ‘wizards’ apprentices’ asked everyone everything, pointing the finger and calling fish meat or illegal swimming pools ‘groomed tanks’.