“There will be support for heating oil on two levels. There will be an intervention in the price at the pump, as well as an increase in the heating allowance, so that those who need it most can benefit,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday while speaking to residents of Arnaia, Halkidiki, where he is on a tour.

“That means the residents of Northern Greece, who by necessity heat their homes more than my fellow citizens in Crete,” the prime minister explained, noting that “we could not have done this, we could not have spent more than €1 billion on measures to support society, if we had not put the public finances in order.”

Kyriakos Mitsotakis also called for “renewing this pact of truth that we first entered into in 2019, updated it in 2023 during the double elections, and I am certain that in the 2027 elections Greek men and women will once again entrust New Democracy with being a force for stability in a turbulent world, but also a force for progress.”

“Stability does not mean stagnation. It means that it is the foundation on which we can build major, bold reforms, and sometimes citizens ask us, ‘But why do you want a majority government? Doesn’t that sound arrogant?’ The answer I give is that only in this way can we make fast and effective decisions with full accountability. I emphasize accountability, and I want to ask you to look at what we said we would do in 2023 and see whether we managed to deliver.”

As he stressed, “the last thing I will do is put Greece in the sights of the markets. At this moment, Greece is an example of a country that has recovered from the crisis. We will build on this, and every Greek woman and every Greek man has every right to look to the future with optimism.”

At the same time, he stressed: “We learn from our mistakes. The only person who makes no mistakes is the one who does nothing. We have the courage to acknowledge them and correct them, and from there we move forward toward a better Greece, greater self-confidence, a Greece whose voice will carry even more weight in Europe.”

Mr. Mitsotakis also referred to the visit by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Athens yesterday, Wednesday, speaking of “talks that confirmed the depth of the Greece-U.S. strategic relationship, but also how the global superpower views Greece’s role as a source of stability in a turbulent region.”

Referring to Mr. Rubio’s speech on the Pnyx, the prime minister noted that the U.S. Secretary of State “emphasized something we take for granted: the enormous debt the West owes to ancient Greece, which laid the foundations for Western civilization. In other words, he asked us to be proud of our heritage, to honor it and showcase it.”

“Alongside the strength of our country, which is reflected in the F-35s, the Rafales, the Belharra frigates and the protection of our borders, there is something equally important, and that is the soft power of a country that has every reason to honor and be proud of its glorious past, but does not rest solely on it. At the same time, it is building a hopeful future through a difficult journey which, however, is leading us toward a great opening.”