"At some point, obviously, there will be changes in the government," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said during an interview on SKAI Radio, however, he added that he currently has no intentions of going to elections.
"It is not the time for changes now. When the time comes, you will hear it from me," he continued.
During the interview, Mitsotakis spoke about the successes of the government in the first 12 months, as well as the mistakes. "If there's one thing I've learned in these 12 months, it's that we can do a lot of things and change the country."
He also described one of the most difficult decisions he had to make-closing the country due to the coronavirus pandemic, saying that “I knew I would lead the country into recession but I calculated that in addition to saving lives, it would be easier to recover the economy."
The PM claimed that the first battle had been won, but that pandemic was not over, adding that the country is in a state of recession, although it is stronger than it had been months ago because "it has institutional capital and confidence in its capabilities." He is confident Greece can do it.
Regarding the possibility of a second lockdown, Mitsotakis stressed that "we will close the borders again if necessary. If we see an increase in epidemiological data."
When asked about mistakes that may have been made during the past year, he replied that “everyone does their self-criticism at all times and we have proved that we learn from our mistakes, we do not hesitate to acknowledge and correct them. I remind you of the hospital directors case."
Mitsotakis also noted that his focus is on economic issues, saying “whenever we think the package needs to be strengthened we will do it."
“We will support them with even greater courage that will change the structure of the economy, this is the top priority for the next 12 months. The government will be judged by its ability to deal with this global economic crisis."
He stressed that in the near future, and with the absence of most of the money from tourism, "the state budget and existing European resources will support the economy. We need to protect jobs in tourism. There are losses, the winter will be difficult but the state has succumbed to the problems of the workers."
The PM was also asked about Greek-Turkish relations. "We have significant differences, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t talk. Our communication had stopped not because we wanted it. Erdogan had said that he does not want to talk to me," Mitsotakis said.
“The institutional channels of communication have been restored. And our consultants can talk”, he added. He clarified that there is a major issue of discussion with Turkey, the issue of determining the EEZ, where "we have very different views."
He also stressed that the Turkish-Libya agreement is illegal and that Greece has international law on its side. “Greece’s first real ally is the European Union."
Regarding the situation in Evros and its management by the government, the Prime Minister stressed that the decision was completely self-evident. "Evros was in my mind a completely self-evident decision. I wasn't particularly worried. On the contrary, for the closure of the country, I had to discuss with others."
As for its implementation, the most difficult decision was to reopen the country, however, "we have the ability to carry out such difficult exercises," he added.
