‘ In Greece we were very responsible, we followed what I call “responsible patriotism”, is the message the Prime Minister sent in his interview with the podcast “Table Today” and journalist Michael Brecker. Commenting on the rise of populist parties in Europe, Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted that citizens’ concerns should not be ignored because their concerns are usually based. CORVERSE “The answer is not, that is, the vote in a populist party, has not given a solution to the problems that people have, and that has been proven worldwide,” the prime minister said. He continued: “In Greece we were very responsible, we followed what I call “responsible patriotism”, when it comes to foreign policy and immigration issues, strengthening our defence. We were socially progressive when we thought this was necessary and were economically liberal.” “The third was perhaps the most important, because that is what creates growth, that is what reduces unemployment and that is what ultimately increases wages. In our case, this triangulation produced results,” he said. CORVERSE Asked about the good progress of the Greek economy, Mr Mitsotakis replied: “We were childless in the fight against tax evasion, using digital tools. This gives us the additional financial space to invest and support the social state.” “In our case, then, this policy was clearly successful, because we must have primary surpluses to reduce our debt, but we can do so while maintaining growth rates significantly higher than the euro area average, reducing unemployment and increasing wages. Because, at the end of the day, it is important that macro-economic size is also diffused in the real economy. This has begun to happen as we speak,” he completed. He stressed that the next “Greek history” concerns the microeconomics rather than the macroeconomics. “It is about attracting investment, strengthening our competitiveness, strengthening our exports and focusing on areas where Greece can really become a champion in Europe,” he said. Referring to the creation of a European defence-focused fund, which, as he said, will be financed by a joint European loan, he noted that “even if it were, say, 100 billion – the Recovery Fund is 750 billion – he would send a clear message that we mean what we say,” he stressed.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: “In Greece we followed what I call “responsible patriotism”””
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in Policy