Mitsotakis says no reshuffle ahead
In a press conference at the 87th Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) Sunday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis rejected any government reshuffle scenarios.
The PM responded to the severe criticism the government has been subjected to for the handling of natural disasters, unfolded his strategy in view of the meeting with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and commented on the elections at SYRIZA. He spoke about policies on same-sex marriage while also responding to the scenarios of him taking a European office.
Mitsotakis also followed up on his remarks at his Saturday keynote speech on compulsory insurance for natural disasters.
“It is time for Greece to start a public debate on the compulsory insurance of all properties, all houses, all production units against natural disasters. A place that faces fires, floods, but also earthquakes, this pursuit becomes a one-way street and is at the same time a form of collective protection that we all have a duty to participate in,” he said.
He put an end to discussions about a government reshuffle. “I have no intention to reshuffle,” he said, while also highlighting that no ministerial position is permanent.
Mitsotakis claimed that the executive state’s response to the recent natural disasters was effective.
The PM received a “rain” of questions about the government’s actions in the unprecedented disaster in Thessaly. The questions concerned the speed of notifying the residents of Larissa, the time taken to activate the Armed Forces, and the plan to deal with the damage.
“The weather phenomenon we had to deal with was unprecedented and outside the data and models that judge on the basis of corresponding incidents,” he said, presenting a relevant meteo map showing the difference between the rainfall that had occurred during January and that occurred in during storm Daniel.
The PM described as a “lie” the claim “that the army was slow to intervene” pointing out that the helicopters flew as soon as it was safe to do so.
“Those who wanted to be evacuated were evacuated,” he said. “We saved a lot of lives because after the phenomenon we acted in concert and with self-sacrifice,” he said.
Mitsotakis responded to questions on steep prices.
“We have the ability to investigate whether increases that are made are justified. We will ask companies to explain why they are increasing the prices of their products. It’s not an easy fight. It requires conflicts, which I am determined to face,” he said.
He commented on the ongoing SYRIZA election.
Mitsotakis said he “looks forward to an official opposition that will have learned from its mistakes and that will emphasize substance over communication and quality discourse over toxicity.”
Asked about the LGBTQI community, Mitsotakis stated that “within four years the issue of same-sex marriage will have been resolved” and that “marriage equality is in the government’s plans in this four-year period.”
On the Fredi Beleri case about the jailed ethnic Greek mayor-elect of the Albanian city of Himare, Mitsotakis said that it overshadows the relations with Albania and reverses the progress achieved in the previous four years. “I do not interfere in Albanian justice, but this is a violation of the rule of law and creates major problems in bilateral relations that will have wider implications for Albania’s attempt to approach the EU,” he said.
Lastly, he rejected scenarios of him assuming a European position or head of NATO in the near future.
