Although Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated that he is “cautiously optimistic” before the President of the Republic, Kostas Tasoulas, regarding the prospect of lifting the farmers’ blockades, not all government officials share the prime minister’s optimism. This is because they understand that yesterday’s “misstep,” with ELGA withdrawing money from farmers’ accounts before the payment of the basic subsidy was credited, “ignited” tensions and gave…ammunition to the more “hardline” agricultural unionists to push for escalation.

The moment of truth comes today at noon in Lefkona, Serres, where the Panhellenic Committee of the blockades will convene, although since yesterday the messages coming from local coordinating bodies point toward the choice of further escalation.

If this line prevails, then there will be no meeting on Friday—neither with Kyriakos Mitsotakis, nor with the Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis and the Minister of Rural Development Kostas Tsiaras. However, a minister directly involved in the discussion tells protothema.gr that any refusal by farmers to engage in dialogue would be “pretextual,” since ultimately the payments were made normally yesterday and the remaining ones will be scheduled by the end of December. Moreover, competent sources report that the issue with ATAK—specifically affecting farmers in Serres who had not received funds—has been resolved, and they too will be paid the basic subsidy in the coming days.

Readjustment of stance

The government will undoubtedly have its antennas pointed toward Serres today to see whether an environment for dialogue can emerge. And among the farmers, according to information, there are conflicting recommendations and more moderate positions favoring dialogue. As of late last night, however, these were not in the majority.

“There is a deficit of trust in the government, and mistakes like the one with ELGA make the situation worse,” a New Democracy MP tells protothema.gr—one who had previously “sounded the alarm” within the government about the situation in the farming community.

If the farmers move along a path of escalation, then the government will be forced to revise its stance as well, as government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis indicated on SKAI. This would be the second time the blockades “ignore” a call for dialogue—this time after a package described in two tranches that includes diesel without excise duty at the pump, cheaper agricultural electricity, 100% compensation for damage by ELGA, and an additional €160 million in support for livestock farmers, cotton growers, and wheat producers. This follows their earlier refusal to attend a meeting scheduled by Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday afternoon.

Under an escalation scenario, the Police would also have to readjust their operational approach if farmers take further steps to block roads and customs points. Competent officials also estimate that the government would then insist “ultimatum-style” on its proposal, since any further concessions would provoke stronger reactions from residents of urban areas who see funds continually being found for protesting producers.

The scenario of withdrawing the package proposed by the government for farmers does not appear to be under discussion, however, as this would also disadvantage the more moderate producers, according to competent sources.