New Democracy chief Kyriakos Mitsotakis attacked Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras for proposing a new electoral law which he called a “recipe for anarchy.”
The main opposition party leader gave an extensive interview on Star television late on Monday night and answered to questions from the live audience.
Mitsotakis said that the proportional representation in elections the government is pushing for is most likely to lead the country to anarchy because it won’t help to form government. He said characteristically that Tsipras knows he is on the way out and he wants to put a bomb in Greece’s political foundations before he leaves.
Mitsotakis said that proportionate representation could mean that the neo-fascist Golden Dawn party would be the third party in the coalition government to be formed if elections were to be held today under the system the government is promoting. However, he said, the only reason Tsipras wants to change the election law is because he knows he would lose the next election and wants to stop New Democracy, as its popularity is rising in polls.
Mitsotakis further said that he is in favor of the proposal that Greek expatriates can vote in their country of residence, but he opposes Tsipras’ view that the right to vote should be given to 17-year-olds.
The New Democracy chief said the reason he wants snap elections now is because he believes that the damage an election would do now is much less than the damage the SYRIZA-ANEL coalition is doing by staying in power. He stressed that the referendum and capital controls Tsipras imposed last year did enormous damage to the Greek economy. Characteristically, he said that at the end of 2017, the Greek economy would be at the state it was at the end of 2014, meaning that three years are wasted.
Mitsotakis also criticized the government for overtaxing Greek citizens. “Heavy taxation results in reduced state revenues. Everyone knows that except the current government,” he said. He added that the gradual reduction of the single property tax (ENFIA) will stimulate the property market.
Regarding his tax policy if he became prime minister, Mitsotakis said: “We want to launch targeted tax breaks to be provided equally and reduce state spending.” He also promised special tax schemes that will make real estate investments attractive to foreign investors.
On the reforms needed in order to bring the Greek economy back on track, the opposition accused the government of refusing to own the bailout program because their political ideology does not allow them to believe in it and they lack the skills and capability to govern.
“What differentiates New Democracy from SYRIZA is that I know how to bring investments and jobs,” Mitsotakis stressed when asked how he would tackle unemployment.
Speaking on the thorny issue of public sector employees who were hired by using fake documents and the government wants to keep them, Mitsotakis pledged that those who entered the pubic sector using forged documents will be fired.
“They do not deserve to be in the public sector and must leave. We will not make mass layoffs. We don’t need that. What is needed is a better allocation of personnel,” he said.
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