The government’s measures on oil precision, energy and the opposition’s hypocritical stance in the vote to boost Greece’s defence capabilities were mentioned by New Democracy’s press spokeswoman Alexandra Sdoukou, speaking to Action 24
Ms Sdoukou stressed that “with the cap we are setting clear limits on profit margins in order to prevent phenomena of obscenity and protect the income of citizens. It does not abolish the increases that come from the rise in fuel prices internationally, but it prevents some people from taking advantage of this situation.”
He noted that the government “is constantly alert in all critical sectors – from the economy and energy to shipping – examining the data and possible scenarios of development on a daily basis”, as if necessary “it will intervene again and in different ways”.
He referred to the announcement by the Prime Minister of “measures for energy-intensive industries that will be clarified within the next few days as there is the necessary consultation with the European Commission so that they are completely within the institutional framework”, while he recalled the announcement by the Minister of Rural Development of “measures to deal with the increases – due to the oil crisis – in fertilizers” that will be announced within the week.
When you give everything from the beginning, you won’t be able to help anyone in need afterwards
The spokeswoman for the Southwestern Democratic Party, responding to the opposition’s accusations that it is calling for absolutely forward-looking measures, explained that “when you have a crisis that you don’t know how long it will last and how deep it will be, then you have to act with prudence and efficiency. It is like a family that has saved a sum of money for a difficult time. When that moment comes and you don’t know how long it will last, you have to manage it properly so that you can respond throughout the time it will take.”
He stressed that measures such as those of the VAT cut demanded by the opposition “are absolutely ineffective”. He recalled that in a recent television broadcast “the representative of the Ministry of Finance had twice asked a representative of the Athens Bakers, whether a reduction in VAT would mean a reduction in prices and he had denied it”. In this way, “this shows that the government is rightly following the logic of the Bank of Greece report, which claims that only 19% of a possible VAT reduction would have an impact on the final price and therefore benefit the consumer,” she said.
At the same time, she referred to the fiscal cost of such a measure, “those who easily make such proposals -as they do not have the responsibility of governance- it would be good if they tell us how they will cover it, where they will get the money from,” she said.
The role of renewables and electricity prices
She particularly emphasized the role of Renewable Energy Sources as “without them, energy costs would be significantly higher.”
He noted that “they have multiplied under the New Democracy government and contribute in an important way to the country’s energy mix”
He stressed that the country “is much stronger in terms of energy, exploiting its potential”. He noted that the opposition keeps coming up with “facts on this issue that do not correspond to reality, either because they do not know, so it would be good for them to read first, or because they do not care about the truth.”
The opposition’s stance on the “Shield of Achilles”
Commenting on the attitude of the opposition parties in the vote on the “Achilles’ Shield”, Ms. Sdoucu commented that the issue was not whether Mr. Dendias would be present or whether Mr. Davakis would replace him, but “the defence of the country.”
He spoke of apparent contradiction and hypocrisy as “we have here, the opposition, stating that we have done our National Debt to go to Cyprus, to put Patriot in Karpathos and northern Greece, stating that all of these things are self-evident and at the same time abstaining or voting against the provisions that make it possible for us to successfully meet what we agree is a National Debt. Even worse, they don’t do it in “carefree times,” they do it when wars and threats are all around us.”
In conclusion, Ms. Sdoukou stressed that the government will continue to act responsibly and with a plan, taking the decisions required at the right time.
“The government will do what it has to do and it is the citizens who judge,” she said, sending a message of stability and confidence in managing the challenges.
