On his TV and in the show “Today» with him Dimitris Oikonomou hosted on Monday morning the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Vassilis Kikilias, who commented, among other things, on the deletion of the former prime minister Antonis Samaras from the SW.

“To be honest, this is an unpleasant development for us in the faction and on a human level if you like. It saddens me, but it was also inevitable,” said Mr. Kikilias initially, adding that political decisions must be made when the timing is right. “When there’s personal strife and an introversion, it’s repulsive you know. The internal dialogue, and this is health for the parties, must be based on real data and facts.”

Even referring to the Greek-Turkish dialogue, the minister stated that patriotism and the defense of national interests is proven in practice and through actions. “The fence on the Evros and the shielding of the external borders, how our Coast Guard defends the sea borders, the electrical interconnection of Cyprus with Greece and Europe, the Rafale, the Bellhara and the F35, all these are patriotic choices. If one sums them up, it turns out in practice that in the last 5 years we have a single coherent policy in all that has to do with national security and defense. And this was not a flat rate. In my own ministry, a €2.1 billion program for logistics and technical equipment is being implemented very important in this puzzle and in this equation. I cannot understand that any processes are being carried out at the expense of national interests”.

In response to a question about a possible split of the ND, given that there is a certain number of MPs close to Antonis Samaras, he commented:

“All MPs and ministers are fully aware of our role and the reason we were re-elected in 2023, which is to be effective, to try to solve the world’s problems, big and small, and of course to defend our national interests . In this light, I cannot see such a thing. It is not my role to interpret or become a futurist. In front of us is the vote on the budget, in front of us is the decision of the prime minister on the person who will be the government’s proposal for the position of the President of the Republic”.

“We are ready and armored in case of severe weather – In Valencia we had a human tragedy because 112 was not called”

Afterwards, the discussion also turned to topics climate crisis and political protectionwith Mr. Kikilia pointing out that he is very pleased with the cooperation with the regional governors and mayors of the country. “We fought a huge battle 7-8 months into the fire season with measurably very good results: minus 14% of the burns of the last twenty years this year in the most difficult conditions. And we continue together on the issue of floods and other extreme phenomena.”

At the same time, he characterized the cooperation with Nikos Hardalia as very good, especially in terms of interoperability (army, police, civil protection, fire brigade, volunteers), while at the same time he underlined:

“In the event that a dangerous bad weather comes our way, we have our plans staffed and operational, with the possibility of forecasting by our meteorologists, informing the public through 112, which was hit and miss. Unfortunately in Valencia 112 was not called and this led to a human tragedy”, concluded the minister.