Thessaloniki-based political party ELAS (Greek Left Coalition), led by Alexis Tsipras, has sharply criticized New Democracy’s government review, accusing the ruling party of hiding mounting social pressures behind glossy presentations, statistics, and media narratives.
‘Nothing Good—Just PowerPoint’
In a pointed statement, Theano Koufonikolakou, ELAS’s spokesperson, responded to Deputy Minister of National Defence Pavlos Marinakis’s rebuttal to the party’s critique. She argued that rather than addressing the substance of ELAS’s concerns, the government focused solely on image management—using slides, charts, and carefully crafted messaging to obscure deeper economic and social challenges.
According to Koufonikolakou, the government’s response reveals its discomfort with real-world problems: rising living costs, eroded purchasing power, a deepening housing crisis, and worsening macroeconomic indicators—including a widening trade deficit and declining national competitiveness. She noted that Greece’s growth rate remains at 2018 levels, while nominal public debt has increased and poverty has expanded.
Wages, Foreclosures, and First Homes
The spokesperson emphasized everyday struggles. While nominal wages have risen, she stressed that stagnant or falling purchasing power means workers see no real improvement in their standard of living. She also accused the government of dismantling protections for primary residences, transferring non-performing loans to private funds and servicing firms, and allowing foreclosures to become what she described as a “mass phenomenon.”
ELAS further cited failures in four critical areas: housing, health, education, and transparency—areas where, it claims, the government has fallen short despite seven years in power.
Reality vs. Presentation
Koufonikolakou concluded with a rhetorical question: “What does the government have to tell us after seven years?” Her answer was unequivocal: “Nothing good—but they’re trying to sell it in PowerPoint.”