Kostis Hatzidakis stressed the need for political stability, setting the next day’s dilemma for the country’s leadership.
The sacrifices of the Greek people and the crucial question of political leadership in times of turmoil were mentioned by Kostis Hatzidakis during a television interview with Action 24. The vice president of the government stressed emphatically that the country should not regress, noting: “Over the past decade, Greeks have suffered unprecedented sacrifices. And in the last seven years we have had great national successes, not only governmental ones. These sacrifices and successes must not be wasted.”
Mr. Hatzidakis did not hesitate to acknowledge that the government has made mistakes, but was quick to bring back to the fore the central dilemma posed by the prime minister from the podium of the recent congress. Referring to the ability to manage national issues, he stressed the importance of who is at the helm of the country in a sudden crisis.
“If we consider what Mitsotakis at the conference, that if a call comes in a crisis from Washington or Brussels, who will pick up the phone and who will handle this situation, if it is not him, I don’t know which leader from the other political parties can do it,” he said.
Asked about the intra-party processes, he noted, “There is nothing wrong in having ambitions. Every lieutenant wants to be a captain and every major general wants to be a lieutenant general. These things are in life. But it is clear that Mitsotakis is the leader, with Mitsotakis we will go to the elections and I believe that with Mitsotakis we will win the elections. Because our difference in the polls is too great from the other parties. But also because as we go to the elections we will present our agenda, we will set the dilemmas and people will understand that we are not playing with Greece.”
Asked about the style of the political debate, the deputy prime minister underlined the following. We must understand the difference between disagreement and civil stone war. In Greece, too many times personal issues get in the way and we have gone to extremes for reasons that were not equivalent to what followed. Because I have read history and because I have some years in politics, I do not want, at least with my own attitude, to contribute to this. Let the government’s mistakes be pointed out, but there is no reason when this happens to hear that “you are mafia, kamora, criminal organization.”
“New Democracy,” he added, “is a great party, which in order to remain great, must also appeal to people who are not only in the core of New Democracy. We have to appeal to a part of public opinion that does not vote for us. It goes without saying that we must not allow the party to be slandered, but on the other hand we must clearly see any problems we have, any part of the party’s image that we may not like. We must be self-critical and try to speak clearly, with moderation, with honesty and, of course, with an agenda for the future, because people will not vote for you simply by giving you a vote of thanks. They must feel that they can rest their hopes on you.”
Asked about the criticisms made in relation to the loss of the pro-people profile of New Democracy, Kostis Hatzidakis said. “I don’t know if we have lost our pro-people profile when unemployment has been reduced from 18% to 8% and 560,000 people have found jobs. This is a supremely pro-popular policy. Of course mistakes have been made, for example, Tempe – in relation to the OSE and not the wood – is one of them, things should have run faster there. And the OPEKEPE was a long-standing mistake, but it was also our mistake. As well as there is the pressure from the international problem of accuracy. We take all this into account, where self-criticism is needed and where we need to change course we do so. And of course we need modesty and efficiency.”
Kosti Hatzidakis reiterated that if the pressure on fuel and shipping continues, the government will not remain indifferent. “So far we have given 800 million euros and we have another 200 million euros set aside for whatever is needed. We have a framework from the European Union in relation to whatever flexibility there is for support measures. We are monitoring it and we will not remain indifferent. On airline tickets, the airlines themselves have kept costs down elsewhere, elsewhere they have made some increases or limited routes to save fuel. In electricity it helps that renewables, which are cheaper than gas and lignite, have a larger share. In supermarkets we have capped margins, there are controls and fines. Supermarkets, fuel and electricity are the three priority fronts now for the government. However, I urge our fellow citizens not to listen to those who say that only they have found solutions to the problem of price increase that no other European government has found.”
At last, regarding the developments in the opposition, he said: “SYRIZA is a party with an expiration date. The political end has been predetermined, in one way or another, because of the presence of Mr Tsipras. I think that the way PASOK is going and cannot find its footing, it is likely that Tsipras will come in second. We, basically, what we need to do is to go after our own house, become more effective and present a clear and serious agenda for Greece in 2030. Because we are not here to play the good guys or to do public relations, but to be useful. The fact that Greek citizens twice, in 2019 and 2023, voted for the party that promised much less than all the others, is a sign of maturity. And I think we should stay on this path because our families, our children, our future is here and we have to protect what we have collectively achieved in the past years.”
