ND leader unveils ambitious plan to streamline party finances
New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis outlined a strict austerity plan Thursday that seeks to drastically slash annual spending in a bid to put party finances in order and introduce full transparency.
According to the plan, yearly expenditures will be reduced to 2.5 million euros from 8.2 million by 2018, while financial transactions will be uploaded to the party website by the end of March. He also announced a “daring” plan to secure 2 million euros annually from private citizens and called upon party members to make financial contributions.
The conservative leader told Kathimerini that New Democracy’s total debt currently stands at 214 million euros, of which 200 million is owed to banks.
“Sixty percent of revenues go towards paying off debt, which leaves 1.8 million euros to cover annual expenditure,” he said. “New Democracy has to adjust to this new reality.”
Mitsotakis attributed the dire financial situation, among other factors, to the reduction of state subsidies to the party from 26.3 million euros in 2009 to 4.2 million euros in 2016.
However, he refused to comment on the results of a party audit he ordered after he swept to the party’s leadership earlier in the year.
“There’s no point at the moment to discuss the causes of the financial situation,” he said.
