Marinakis for Tsipras and Karystianou: Personal agendas do not constitute a political proposal
The government’s clear statement that the course of the government does not depend on which parties will appear on the political scene was made by …
News Room
25 May 2026
The clear statement that the government’s course does not depend on which parties appear on the political scene was made by the government spokesman,Paul Marinakis, during a briefing for political editors.
Asked about the new parties of Alexis Tsipras, expected to be announced tomorrow, and Maria Karystianou, the government spokesman said that one thing is political debate on “positions and costed programs” and another is “participation in a trend where personal agendas are turned into parties and speeches”. “We are here to produce policies and respond to proposals,” he said.
Specifically about Alexis Tsipras’ new party, Pavlos Marinakis said the following: “A lot of communication, a lot of image. Everything has its importance, especially in 2026. I see no substance, no faces, no programmatic reason, no self-criticism. It’s not about becoming Atletico Madrid Barcelona. People want to hear costed policies. And certainly when it comes to a former prime minister who was anything but successful by all accounts. Let’s see what he has to say. So far we have not heard anything interesting either at the level of persons or at the level of policies.”
He made it clear that the goal of the New Democracy remains “another clean mandate”, which – as he noted – will be judged by the effectiveness of the government’s work, its credibility and its programme for the next four years. On this point, he said that “whether we will achieve our electoral goal is neither increased nor decreased by what the other parties will be”, adding that citizens will evaluate which government proposal offers “consistency, credibility and substantial progress without false promises”.
Androulakis’ PASOK is one thing, Gennimata’s PASOK is another. Venizelos
In response to another similar question about partisan partnerships, he said that “our goal remains to be self-reliant” and that this is not an end in itself but follows from reality. “The PASOK of Mr. Androulakis is one thing, the PASOK of Ms. Gennimata and Mr. Venizelos is another. We have almost a year ahead of us to get closer to the goal of self-reliance. If possible, we should manage to achieve something good for the life of the citizens on a daily basis,” he added.
Leaks and questions
Asked about the Kovesi letter with concerns about recent legislative initiatives by the government, Marinakis said that “once we receive the text of the letter, we will respond as a government institutionally and to everything” and that based on the leaks, questions are being raised. “We are talking about two areas of discussion. One has to do with the judiciary’s decision to renew the term of office and the second has to do with the notorious legislation. It was known to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. It does not in the least diminish the role of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. On the contrary,” the government spokesman continued and noted, among other things, “With these facts which are not disputed, there is a question. Surely the best answers for the rule of law are given by the institutional actors both in Europe and more broadly with the last one being the European Commissioner and they cause the known slanderers of the country to be speechless. It is worth knowing what happened in the relevant committee of the European Parliament a week ago and the conclusions that came out.”
As for the new double self-governing ENFIA, he said that we are talking about consolidating older taxes into one without the tax being higher.
On Yiotopoulos’ release
On the Supreme Court prosecutor’s decision to overturn the decision to release Alexander Yiotopoulos from prison, he said “we cannot comment on something that concerns justice.” He added that on a human level, “I understand the reactions of those who have tragic experience of the 17N killers, whom Justice has irrevocably judged.”
“We have tightened the framework too much to the limits of what is permissible,” he said in response to a follow-up question about whether this decision could become a springboard to reconsider the conditional release of prisoners. “There is the legal framework which has been tightened and there is also how it is applied by judges that we cannot do anything there,” he added.
On the election result in Cyprus, Pavlos Marinakis said it is important that DISY achieved a clear victory. “Stability, progress won. Congratulations to Anita Demetriou. The Greek government is cooperating to an absolute extent with the Republic of Cyprus as a whole. With Cyprus we are united by many things, we move forward together, we claim and we do not retreat,” he stressed.
As for what Antonis Samaras said on the issue of surveillance, Marinakis said that in Western democracies the investigation of such cases is undertaken by the judiciary, which the government trusts. “And the investigation is done by Justice and the decisions are issued by Justice,” he noted. “I don’t think people are particularly interested in everyone’s personal agenda but how each party will be useful for their daily lives,” he said after a question.
We have cut 83 taxes
“If it was Mitsotakis inflation, we would only measure accuracy in Greece. Inflation is an average and there are types of inflation. Official data show that in other individual inflation rates [rates] are lower [than average] and in others they are higher than average. On average it has managed to be below the European average. In food much lower. The bottom line is that the only way to deal with high accuracy is to increase income without mortgaging the future of future generations. We cut taxes. There is no magic formula, there is no other way. We have cut 83 taxes, the goal is to cut more as long as the bill comes out,” he said in response to a question about accuracy.
About last Friday’s debate in Parliament, Marinakis said the opposition showed disrespect for the functioning of Parliament and it is part of its broader stance of creating a climate of tension and polarization. “As to the substance of the matter, in the previous vote on the establishment of an inquiry, the government had not voted against it. Now it has voted against it for the reasons explained by the majority spokesman, he was clear and for the legal reasons. And to say the very attitude of the opposition over the years in a number of cases shows how much they respect both the secrecy and the secrecy of these proceedings. Justice has taken over the investigation of the case,” he added.
Asked if there is a question of espionage or something else, he said that “Justice has answered all these questions with a number of provisions” and that “in the desperation of some to survive politically, they prefer to make a rag on the NIA, to attack the head of the NIA but there is a limit to this and it is what the Constitution and the rules of the Parliament say.”
Asked again if he refuted what Androulakis said about being monitored by verbal order, he replied that “it is not my job to know or explain or to legitimize an illegal action that PASOK did, to make a dialogue public.”
The fire protection mechanism has been strengthened
Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis, during his introductory statement at the briefing of political editors, referred to the start of this year’s fire season, the course of the Greek economy according to the European Commission’s spring forecasts, the measures to support the candidates of the Panelladic Examinations, as well as tomorrow’s meeting of the Council of Ministers.
Marinakis stressed that with the start of the fire season the Fire Brigade has 17,727 permanent and seasonal firefighters, while by the end of the period their number will reach 18,804. At the same time, he said that the fleet of firefighting vehicles has been significantly strengthened and now numbers 4,299 vehicles.
He made a special reference to the Special Forestry Operations Units, known as “foresters”, noting that of the first six units established in 2022, 21 units are currently operating with a total of 1,450 personnel. He also noted that this year the Fire Corps will also be reinforced with pre-deployed personnel from four European countries.
Referring to surveillance means, he stressed that the number of drones bases now stands at 100, while there are also three Mobile Drones Operations Centres, which can operate even in extreme weather conditions and have thermal cameras. At the same time, he said that on a daily basis, some 80 to 85 aerial means will be available.
The government spokesman also pointed out that the Antinero Forest Protection Programme for 2026 includes projects with a total budget of some €82 million. He said this amount is added to the prevention interventions for the 2022-2025 period, bringing the total budget for prevention actions for the five-year period 2022-2026 to about €667 million.
He stressed that the interventions include clearing of forest vegetation, maintenance of the forest road network, creation of mixed and sheltered fire prevention zones, forest infrastructure projects, water reservoirs, as well as actions to protect archaeological sites and peri-urban forest ecosystems of high risk. He stressed that prevention, active and scientifically documented management of forest ecosystems and strengthening their resilience to the climate crisis are a central priority of the government.
In the same context, Mr. Marinakis said that the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection had a working meeting today with the commanders of the Fire Services of Attica, in view of the fire season. He noted that special emphasis was placed on the increased risk of Attica due to the many mixed zones, high population concentration and access problems in areas with uncleared or fenced plots.
He also said that the minister stressed the drastic reduction of fire starts as a key objective, noting that the large number of incidents each summer causes a significant dispersion of forces and increased operational pressure on the Civil Protection mechanism. At the same time, he expressed his confidence in the members of the Fire Brigade and stressed that the immediate future will be used to complete all the necessary preventive actions, aiming to reduce the risk and further strengthen the operational readiness of the country in view of a particularly demanding summer.
Growth above the Eurozone average
The government spokesman then referred to the European Commission’s spring forecasts for the Greek economy. He stressed that Greece is expected to grow twice as fast as the eurozone average again this year. He said,growth for 2026 is forecast to be 1.8 percent, compared to 0.9 percent in the eurozone, despite the fact that the energy shock caused by the war in Iran has negatively affected the growth dynamics of the European Union.
He also noted that the Commission forecasts a further decline in unemployment, which is expected to be 8.3 percent in 2026 and 7.9 percent in 2027. Referring to inflation, he said that from 2.9% in 2025 it is expected to rise to 3.7% this year, mainly due to energy prices, before falling to 2.4% by the end of 2027.
He also made a special reference to the path of public debt, stressing that as a percentage of GDP it fell to 146.1% in 2025 and, according to the European Commission’s forecasts, is expected to be further reduced to 140.7% in 2026 and 134.4% in 2027.
Telephone line for the Panhellenic Examinations
Marinakis also referred to the Ministry of Education’s initiative to support candidates for the Panhellenic Examinations and their families. He said that the phone line 1550, which is staffed by psychologists from the Centres for Interdisciplinary Assessment, Counselling and Support and the Ministry of Health, was created on the initiative of the Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, Sophia Zacharaki.
He said that the line operates from today until 30 June 2026 and that calls are free of charge for all subscribers of telecommunications companies. At the same time, he pointed out that a nationwide network of interventions has been activated through theRegional Directorates of Education, the Centres for Interdisciplinary Assessment, Counselling and Support, the School Education Support Networks and the education support structures in all 13 regions of the country.
As noted, this network includes psychological support telephone lines, systematic on-site visits by specialists to school units, the possibility of scheduling counselling sessions, information activities for parents and teachers, as well as stress management and mental resilience building programmes. At the same time, he quoted the statement of the Minister of Education Sofia Zacharaki, who stressed that the support of students is not a temporary measure, but a constant priority of the state, underlining the importance of the relationship between school, children and family.
Cabinet meeting
The government spokesman also announced that tomorrow, Tuesday, May 26, at 11:00, the Cabinet of Ministers will meet under Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at Maximou Mansion, noting that a further announcement will be made on the topics of the meeting.
Closing his introductory statement, Pavlos Marinakis congratulated Olympiacos on winning the fourth European trophy in its history and congratulated all those who contributed to the successful organization of the EuroLeague Final Four in Greece.
