“Tomorrow we have the official announcements on the surplus. We have a cautious optimism that we will have good news – and if we do have good news, we will have announcements from the Prime Minister very soon, possibly tomorrow, on new positive measures for the promotion,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis told Parapolitika 90.1.
He added that he believes that “they will be measures which – like all the previous ones, without meaning that they will be a solution for all the problems of citizens – if what is written and heard and read by everyone is confirmed, they will be measures that will also have their value.”
He stressed, however, that “because we do not have a final picture of the surplus, the measures are not locked in. So to speak on assumptions would be wrong.” He asked us to wait, recalling that “because we are talking about a surplus, in the budget debate in Parliament, the opposition as a whole was lambasting the government for the extra tax revenues we had, and rightly so, and they were talking about overtaxation.”
Referring to the issue of immunity waivers, he said: “First of all, it is not a matter of line. It is respect for what the MPs themselves have asked for – and what they have asked for is that their immunity be lifted, not because they believe they are guilty, but to prove their innocence. So they have spoken for themselves before all of us.” He added that from then on, the MPs, who are the only ones who have the ability and authority to decide, will vote and decide.
Speaking about Nikos Androulakis and his presence in Spain, he noted: “Yesterday’s angry and characterisation-filled announcements by PASOK were unjustified. I pointed something out, following a question from a colleague in Thessaloniki: he posted a very cute little video – some people liked it, some people didn’t like it – of Mr Androulakis to let us know something we knew, of course, that he was attending an important progressive conference of Mr Sanchez on progressive forces. And we found out that the leader of the country’s opposition went all the way to Spain to take a selfie with Mr. Sanchez and make a video. I believe, not only I, but the government as a whole, that it is important for the leader of the country’s official opposition, as the Prime Minister does in the European People’s Party, in Congress, in much more important fora and on very important occasions, to make an intervention – which we did not see Mr Androulakis intervene – to promote national positions. Because as important as it is to promote national positions in the Eurogroup, in the European Council, in the European People’s Party for the country, it is important to promote them without questioning Mr Androullaakis’s positions – if I may say so – in the socialist world. Because we have not seen either a speech – if I am not mistaken, let PASOK correct me and not attack me – or a bilateral meeting with Mr Sanchez.”
He also added that “how the country is represented is very important – you know, in elections, people decide on two things. First, how the country will be governed, so a programme, which we have not yet seen, and who will handle the difficult issues. It is critical for the citizens that the leader of the opposition goes to such an important congress and he is not given two minutes to speak.”
As for whether the German model addresses the buffet, Marinakis pointed out that the Prime Minister rightly opened the discussion in view of the Constitutional Review on some changes that need to be made in the political system, in the electoral law and which will be implemented after the elections. “It is an aspect, important aspect of the Constitutional Review.”
He stressed at the same time that “there is still nothing final. Proposals are being submitted. We saw an article in the Sunday press, for example, about the notorious German model. There is also the German model as a proposal. And there are other proposals that talk about large constituencies. One publication has highlighted one proposal. Here is the bottom line. These proposals have enormous merit, all of them. Some people agree with some, others disagree with others. I have not hidden my words, I have spoken my mind, some disagree, others disagree with others. But the important thing is that there are proposals and the dialogue is opening up. Has anyone, including the Prime Minister, ever said that this debate is being held to tackle the buffoonery in Greece? Answer: No. One thing is the policies that change the image of the public administration and deal with the client state, which we are the first government to have several of them and we have to move forward with more – we leave that aside, importantly – another thing is the debate on the constitutional revision and the electoral law. So, we are wrong to confuse the two.”
