Today’s Cabinet meeting, scheduled for 11:00 at the Maximos Mansion, has a packed agenda and a significant political message. Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis and Minister of State Akis Skertsos are expected to present each ministry’s key priorities for the second half of the year. Beyond the substance of those priorities, the government’s political message is that the next general election will take place as scheduled in 2027, at a time chosen by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, rather than in the autumn of this year.

While Mr Mitsotakis continues to dismiss talk of a prolonged pre-election period, he has stepped up his regional visits, mobilising the party machinery. He visited Aigaleo yesterday and is due to travel to Penteli on Friday, with a focus on health centres and hospitals being renovated using funds from the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

Under the slogan “We said it, we’re doing it,” Mr Mitsotakis has repeatedly stressed that New Democracy is the only credible option for keeping the country on a stable course. He said the party is addressing the “silent majority” and “the Greece that wakes up early”, while taking indirect aim at “newcomers to politics who want to save us” and warning against “experiments that nearly drove us over the cliff”.

Without mentioning former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras by name, Mr Mitsotakis is clearly contrasting his government’s delivery of New Democracy’s election pledges with what he sees as Mr Tsipras’s attempted political rebranding. He also signalled that he is not yet ready to wish people a “good summer”, saying there is still plenty of work to be done.

According to information obtained by protothema.gr, the government’s central priorities through to December 2026, which will be presented today, include the new National Baccalaureate being developed by the Ministry of Education, transferring urban planning authorities to the Hellenic Cadastre, special spatial planning frameworks for renewable energy, tourism and industry, and major infrastructure projects such as the completion of the E65 motorway, the extension of the Thessaloniki Metro to Kalamaria, and railway upgrades along the Athens-Thessaloniki corridor.

The government’s priorities also include the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) package, which is expected to exceed €1 billion, with more detailed planning to be finalised during July.

Agreement with the market

The fight against high prices, which continue to erode household disposable income, remains one of the government’s top priorities.

At yesterday’s meeting at the Maximos Mansion, chaired by the Prime Minister and attended by Development Minister Takis Theodorikakos and representatives of the retail sector, the two sides confirmed a “gentlemen’s agreement” aimed at reducing the prices of essential consumer goods.

The initial agreement provides for the government to lift the cap on profit margins, while market participants commit to maintaining the average 6% price reductions achieved in recent months as a result of the cap throughout July and August.

During the summer, a broader agreement will be finalised through cooperation between Despina Tsangari, Governor of the Independent Consumer Protection Authority, and market representatives, with the aim of securing the largest possible price cuts on widely used consumer products.

Cabinet agenda

In addition to the government’s strategic priorities, today’s Cabinet meeting will include an update from Margaritis Schinas, the minister responsible for agriculture, following the launch of more than €600 million in “clean” payments to producers through the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE).

The issue is regarded as politically significant given New Democracy’s declining support in agricultural constituencies. Mr Mitsotakis stressed yesterday that €150 million had effectively been redirected to genuine farmers after payments to ineligible recipients were halted.

The Cabinet will also examine the Ministry of Labour’s draft legislation, presented by Niki Kerameus and Anna Efthymiou, on Occupational Pension Funds and new incentives for the second pillar of Greece’s pension system.

Meanwhile, Domna Michailidou, Minister for Social Cohesion and Family, together with Deputy Minister Elena Rapti, will present draft legislation aimed at strengthening the Equal Treatment Authority, improving the implementation of the principle of equal treatment, and incorporating relevant EU directives into Greek law.

Finally, Justice Minister Giorgos Floridis will present his nominations for the leadership of the Supreme Civil and Criminal Court (Areios Pagos). Panagiotis Lyberopoulos is expected to be nominated as President, while Vangelis Bakelas is set to become Prosecutor of the Supreme Court, following the approval they received from the Conference of Presidents of the Hellenic Parliament.