The opposition leader attributed the announcements the prime minister is to make tonight on banks to pressure from PASOK while making it clear that his party is not proposing the administrative determination of interest rates – as the government claims – but is calling for the implementation of a Supreme Court ruling that banks are obliged to lower them when the ECB’s interest rates are reduced.

At the same time, he accused the prime minister of unabashed populism by reiterating earlier proposals for a horizontal reduction in VAT. He again called for a temporary and targeted reduction in basic goods. He reiterated that the experiment in Spain had succeeded, with Spanish households benefiting to the tune of EUR 1.3 billion. Androulakis said that the gap in inequalities is constantly widening, noting that the Greek people have the second lowest purchasing power in the EU-27.

At the same time, he said that the measures to be announced by Kyriakos Mitsotakis for the banks at the close of the session come after pressure from PASOK , while he noted that there is a large increase in the current account deficit, which he said shows that there is not the slightest change in the country’s production model.

“For six years now, however, you have failed to make the economy more competitive, society more just, and institutions more powerful, but above all, you have failed to make Greeks more optimistic and with a better outlook for their lives,” he said. He once again described the demographic issue as a national issue, reiterating his proposals for a joint approach to it, with a series of incentives, including housing. The PASOK president also described water scarcity as a national issue and accused the government of having mined the country’s energy future.

On Greek-Turkish relations, he accused the government of having confused its internal party politics with national interests. As he said, “On national issues, where a coherent strategy is required, we heard four different voices within New Democracy. One of them was dismissed and 3 remained. One voice is Mr Gerapetritis, the Foreign Minister, who sees an open window of opportunity for an appeal to the Hague. The second voice is yours, who just the day before yesterday said that you see this window but it is closed. And the third is that of Mr. Dendias, the Minister of National Defence, who sees no window but a wide open door of concessions.”