Subsidy for diesel fuel is likely, PM says
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told Parliament Thursday that the government is considering action to mitigate the large price hikes in diesel fuel, as well as a further rise in the minimum wage.
“Diesel fuel is a concern. It is something we will consider, because price hikes in diesel affect the supply chain and the cost of products,” Mitsotakis said. “We are considering our margin [for intervention] and we will see if we are in a position to announce something on diesel fuel.” Mitsotakis was not specific about the type of intervention, but a price subsidy is considered more likely than a cut in the heavy taxes on fuel or price caps.
Mitsotakis was responding to opposition leader Alexis Tsipras during Prime Minister’s Question Time. Tsipras had requested a debate on inflation and he had started it by accusing the government of allowing inflation to run unchecked and plundering the middle- and lower-income classes.
Mitsotakis countered that the inflation crisis is global and called on Tsipras to “stop with the lies and fabrications.”
“You could not find a single word to name the main culprit of this global inflation crisis: the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” said Mitsotakis, whose own ruling center-right New Democracy also has its share of Russian sympathizers.
Despite the traded barbs, Thursday’s clash of the leaders of the two biggest parties was considered rather low-key. Mitsotakis said Tsipras was right to raise the issue of diesel fuel, widely used among truckers and farmers. Tsipras also admitted that expensive fuel was not only a Greek phenomenon and that he misspoke. Tsipras also acknowledged that the government has spent significant sums to mitigate the effects of energy price hikes.
“It is necessary to pursue a further rise in the minimum wage when we face inflation of such intensity,” Mitsotakis said.
Greek inflation rose to 12% annually in September, its highest level since 1994 and higher than the EU average of 10%, as a result of the energy crisis. Greece has returned to double-digit inflation for the first time since 1995.
