Mitsotakis stresses need for a stable government

Visiting the island of Leros on Monday, New Democracy (ND) leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that the recent election result was for him a reward for a great effort that began in July 2019, in the midst of extremely adverse conditions.

"We succeeded and kept our homeland safe, we succeeded and put our economy on a growth course. Moreover, here, in the Dodecanese, in the South Aegean, it is something you can see. The economy is doing better, you are the only region of the country that has had a significant increase in population, and this says something about your prospects and the next day, which I think we can all of us now face, justifiably, with much greater optimism," he stressed.

Mitsotakis also noted that, while he had never claimed that all the problems have been solved, the overall situation on the islands was much better than it had been in 2019.

He also recalled that his government had been called upon to manage successive major crises, starting with the coronavirus pandemic, followed by an unprecedented energy crisis, the war in Ukraine, but also a very aggressive neighbour.

"I believe that in the last four years Greece has strengthened and defended its sovereignty and sovereign rights with confidence and efficiency, Mitsotakis said, especially highlighting his government's handling of refugee flows.

"You remember that when I came to talk to you in 2019 in Rhodes, I told you: 'I promise we will deal with the refugee problem at its root,' - and we solved the problem. We solved the refugee problem, we reduced migration flows to a minimum, we created modern facilities on our islands. We managed and fought - and it was not at all easy - to keep VAT low on the five islands where there were and are refugee reception facilities," he continued.

He also underlined "how important it is that this policy, a policy of national confidence, can continue the day after the elections. What the country needs more than anything today is a stable government. And in order to have this stable government, New Democracy must get a secure majority in Parliament in the next elections."