Yesterday’s decision by the government not to leave farmers’ demands unanswered and to present, through the competent minister Kostas Tsiaras, a more comprehensive “response package” was an important first step toward easing the tension that has been simmering for the past two weeks at roadblocks across the country.

The “Tsiaras package” was front-loaded and more advanced compared to previous periods, with the government for the first time putting on the table the prospect of subsidizing agricultural diesel directly at the pump, as is done in other European countries; outlining the extension or even reduction of the already lower price of agricultural electricity; and stressing that compensation after natural disasters through ELGA will now reach 100%. In this way, the government effectively “returned the ball” to the farmers’ court.

According to informed sources, Mr. Tsiaras’s announcements caught several farmer union leaders by surprise, even if the initial reaction was that they were general in nature. After the statement by the Minister of Rural Development, phones started ringing to see whether, in the coming days, a substantive de-escalation could occur, which would of course be marked by a meeting between Kyriakos Mitsotakis and representatives of the roadblocks. In fact, government sources in these communications even floated the idea of a meeting as early as this morning, before the budget session, something that was rejected outright by the roadblocks due to the lack of unified representation. It is clear that many farmers favor dialogue, including many who are not aligned with New Democracy (ND). Within their ranks, they believe a meeting toward the end of the week is more likely, immediately after Mr. Mitsotakis’s return from Brussels on Friday, or possibly on Saturday.

The messages of the budget

Mr. Mitsotakis clearly wants to close the farming front, which is “costly” for the government, as was shown in the two polls published yesterday (Alco for Alpha and GPO for Parapolitika 90.1). After all, in the 2023 elections ND maintained strong support among the farming population, with a percentage close to 50%. Consequently, restoring ties is considered essential, and this naturally goes through addressing concrete problems related to production costs, which the government acknowledges as objective.

Yesterday as well, meetings were frequent within the government team to prepare in greater detail this package of measures, which will be specified in the dialogue that will inevitably follow in the coming days. It remains to be seen what exactly the prime minister will say today from the podium of the budget debate, as he is scheduled to speak in Parliament after 19:00.

According to his aides, he will leave the negotiation aspect to the competent ministry, which means he will not go into great detail, despite suggestions that he be more specific, especially on electricity and fuel. Nevertheless, Mr. Mitsotakis will defend placing OPEKEPE under the AADE, stressing that this is the most crucial point for modernizing the entire subsidy system and, more broadly, for reforming the primary sector.

The limit of endurance

For the farmers as well, however, the prospect of remaining indefinitely at the roadblocks is not desirable, as they too want to spend Christmas with their families. They also understand that they risk a rupture with society at large, whose support they currently enjoy. Consequently, they too see the dialogue table as a natural development, but they are asking for guarantees and clarifications from the relevant actors involved, including behind the scenes of the negotiation.

There are, of course, proponents of a “hard line,” but as the days pass they are becoming fewer, as it becomes clear that the government has received the message and that the roadblocks can achieve a communications victory in the coming days by leaving the discussion table with tangible benefits.