Greece's Mitsotakis pledges economic growth in new campaign
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Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis launches a new campaign agenda for the ruling New Democracy party on Wednesday night.
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Mitsotakis speaks during a joint news conference with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at Maximos Mansion in Athens, Greece, November 11, 2020. (Reuters)
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis launched a new campaign agenda for the ruling New Democracy party on Wednesday night, promising that Greece's economic growth will be twice as high as that of the European Union.
During a televised speech on Greek broadcaster ERT, Mitsotakis explained that in 2019 he had stated the biggest challenge that would be faced is "how to bridge the gap that separates us from the EU in terms of investment, in terms of the size of GDP. "
According to the prime minister's program, the party wants Greece's economy to grow at 3% per year, which is twice as fast as the EU average, to double public investment and increase total investment by 70%, to reduce public debt to 140% of GDP in 2027 and 120% of GDP in 2030, and to achieve and maintain inflation at 2%.
The prime minister also promised to cut unemployment to 8% by 2027, raise exports to 60% of GDP by 2027 and 70% by 2030, and extend Greece's tourist season to 12 months, with state earnings from tourism reaching 30 billion euros ($33 billion) each year.
Mitsotakis predicts that his country will be "among the top ten countries in the world in terms of logistics."
2,300 planned infrastructure projects
The policy also involves raising the average pay by more than 25% between 2023 and 2027, from 1,170 euros to 1,500 euros, raising the minimum wage to 950 euros per month, and boosting pensions by 3%-4% beginning January 1, 2024. The prime minister also promised that taxes and fees will be decreased further.
In Greece, there are 2,300 critical infrastructure projects planned, including roads, airports, metro and subway stations, ports, water and sewage networks, and ten key projects such as the Thessaloniki metro, the Patras-Pyrgos highway, the expansion of the Athens metro, and the Northern Road Axis of Crete.
Social initiatives include, among other things, increasing the nursing workforce by 10,000, maintaining 80 hospitals and 156 health facilities, establishing 315 telemedicine units, 25 modern rehabilitation centers, and providing free preventative exams to all citizens.
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The PM also promised improved public education, improved public transit, modernized electric trains and 650 zero-emission buses in Athens and Thessaloniki.
The party also intends to push for even more digitization, with all government facilities exchanging all information and data online by 2025.
By 2027, 5G networks will cover 94% of the country's land, and every public and private building in the country will have optic fibers for fast Internet. In addition, all primary and secondary schools would be given high-speed Internet connections.
Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou signed an order dissolving parliament and calling for parliamentary elections on May 21. According to surveys, Mitsotakis' ruling party is leading the major opposition party, the Coalition of the Radical Left — Progressive Alliance (SYRIZA), by 4-6%.
