Awkward message by the leader of Greece’s major opposition party, conservative New Democracy. “Social equality is against the human nature,” tribe leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis told Greeks at the International Trade Fair of Thessaloniki on Saturday.
“I have no illusions about a society without inequalities, something like that is against the human nature, and those who attempted this circumvented democracy and individual rights,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a statement that came directly from the cold-war of the 50s and the 60s. “But the dividend of prosperity must be shared as fairly as possible. For us solidarity is the other side of freedom. It’s not just a matter of humanity. it is the practical recognition of the common destiny that binds all Greeks together,” he added.
His message aimed to clearly differentiate the policy of Greece’ major opposition party from the social equality policy of ruling left-wing SYRIZA. Mitsotakis’ controversial message backfired.
Government spokesman Dimitris Tzakanopoulos described Mitsotakis statement as “a mixture of far-right rhetoric and neo-liberalism.”
“In his anxiety to convince the state-supported entrepreneurship that continues to count on him, Mr. Mitsotakis appeared more as an agent of certain interests and less as a political leader” Tzanakopoulos said adding Mitsotakis “defended social injustices, promised to write off debts of tax evaders and to fire civil servants […] He even promised to give the General Accounting Office to the private sector. But his pledge for a new memorandum is the moment when he crossed the line.”
PASOk spoke of “extreme conservatism”.
On social media, users wrote this was the same mind-set as of Nazis.
In the rest of his keynote speech, Mitsotakis pledged to sweep away the crisis, bring investors, create jobs, reduce business taxation and property tax, proceed with lay-offs in the public sector and also help the poor.
“I am committed to a 20 ptc reduction in business taxation within two months,” Mitsotakis said, adding that “I am committed to a simplified licensing framework.”
According to ekathimerini, Mitsotakis listed ND’s three key priorities as: “the creation of jobs through investments, the reduction of taxation and the support of the weak.”
Specifically, Mitsotakis said, an ND government would reduce the hugely unpopular property tax, known as ENFIA, by 30 percent over two years. He also pledged a drastic simplification of tax laws, promising that the final framework would remain in place for five years in an attempt to reassure investors wary about frequent changes to tax regulations.
He pledged that investment projects in Elliniko, south of Athens and Skouries, Halkidiki, that are currently stalled, would move forward under an ND administration.
The ND leader also pledged to streamline the public sector, boost job creation for young Greeks and revoke a constitutional ban on private universities.
PS my cat said she would vote for the politically party that scraps taxation according to deemed criteria.
Mitsotakis is like the Grand Vizir Iznogood. He’s desperate to be PM (one wouldn’t want to disappoint daddy after all). If that means promising free cable access to every Greek with two fully-loaded souvlaki every night and no taxes for the foreseeable future, he has no problem promising that. Of course it remains to be seen what the European overlords have to say about all this. I can already hear him whining on TV after the elections about how he wanted to do X, Y and Z but reality (i.e. Germany) won’t let him.
P.S. If all else fails, he could always teach us all about running a pizza parlor.
Samaras was the pizza guy
“Samaras was the pizza guy” – Really? Twitlledum and Twittledumber…I get Kyriakos Samaras and Andreas Mitsotakis confused all the time.
That’s Antonis Mitsotakis. Can’t be bothered to concentrate enough to get these guys right.
Quelle surprise! A useless parasitic politician from one of Greece’s many kleptocratic families.. rejects the idea of social equality as being “against human nature”. No discussion of increasing socio-economic inequalities across the globe; no mention of the massive increases in the wealth of the world’s richest since the global financial crisis.
If this halfwit had even an average IQ, he might understand that both democracy and capitalism are failing because of corruption and abuse of power. Greece has pioneered this for many decades (actually, since 1832) but the entire world is now affected by this debilitating cancer. We can do without meaningless conservative propaganda that is 50 years out of date.
This Mitsotakis of New Democracy has good ideas based on this short article. If I was allowed a vote in Greece, I would definitely consider him. Greece needs a Ron Paul type of candidate to fix up the economic and demographic mess it’s in currently.
Mitsotakis couldn’t find an idea with both hands, a shovel, a map and an army of handlers. He simply regurgitates slogans. The same neoliberal slogans we have heard for years and which have simply made the world a poorer and more unequal place: “cut taxes”; “cut regulation”; “cut oversight”; “lay off workers”; “cut welfare”; “cut the public sector”; “the rich know better”…blah, blah, blah. I’d love for him to now give us his views on nepotism and the worth of family connections. Now, that would be something.