Mitsotakis vows to enforce his program
Opposition New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday underlined the need for a strong mandate from the Greek people if he is to enforce his program “without caveats and differentiations.”
In an interview with Skai Radio, the center-right leader said he was keen to press ahead with a series of reforms after ND wins the general election, which it is widely expected to do. He did not explicitly rule out cooperation with other parties if ND fails to clinch an absolute majority but he stressed that such alliances could dilute his party’s plans.
For instance, a possible cooperation with the Movement for Change (KINAL) would “make our work more difficult” due to the party’s objections to ND’s plans to revoke an asylum law banning police from entering university grounds. ND wants to overhaul the law to curb growing lawlessness on and around campuses.
One of the first bills ND will submit in Parliament, Mitsotakis said, will foresee the abolition of the asylum law, as well as reforms to ensure local authorities remain “governable.”
Anticipating its defeat in the election, SYRIZA has planned for the next local authority elections in October to be held under a system of simple proportional representation. Mitsotakis aims to restore the existing system, which gives the winning political coalition a majority in local councils.
Another goal is to secure the right to vote in national elections for Greeks living abroad.
Tackling the country’s demographic problem by offering financial incentives for couples to have children is another priority that the center-right leader underlined. As for his cabinet, Mitsotakis said he has decided on half the members, noting that many will be non-politicians and “prominent technocrats.”
