Marinakis: Greece has the highest rate of increase of available income

Greece is actually among the European Union countries where available income is growing fastest, government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis commented on Monday in a radio interview with journalists Takis Hatzis and Athinaida Nega.

"I hear constant criticism from the opposition, which expresses itself by presenting half the truth. Greece, it says, occupies one of the last positions for the citizens' available income. We have never denied that Greece found itself at the lowest point as regards the citizens' available income in previous years. The other half of the truth, however, is that in the last five years Greece is the country with the highest rate of increase of available income in Europe," Marinakis said.

He predicted that the present government would be more resilient than other governments in their second term, saying that he actually hoped for "an alternative proposal and an opposition with which there can be a political dialogue on specific positions and costed proposals."

On the cost of living, he said the figures showed a reduction of supermarket prices for four consecutive months. While acknowledging that there was no greater problem than high prices for every citizen, he denied that the cost of living in Greece was the highest in Europe.

"This is not accurate, and this is shown by the official Eurostat figures, which show that Greece on a cumulative basis, since the phenomenon of high prices first emerged in other words, has an average inflation that is lower than that of Europe. However, Greeks are more aware of it because we had and still have, despite of the increase in pay, a lower available income. Therefore, high prices for Greeks seem higher than for any other country that has higher wages," he pointed out.

On the phenomenon of violence among young people, he noted measures such as the platform against bullying, banning the use of mobile phones in schools, the help line for minors but also the fact that no government decision can simply eliminate delinquent behaviour. Violence among minors, he added, was not just a matter of government policy but also a deeply social issue and a matter for parents, teachers and role models.

"We will, of course, use all the tools we can to give these children and their parents to report incidents...one reason why all these things are becoming known is because the tools exist to report them and for the law to be enforced," he added.