Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis unveiled several handouts aimed at supporting citizens during his speech at the 88th Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) on Saturday.
He unveiled plans to increase pensions, reduce social security contributions and improve public services to win back voters angered by a lingering cost of living crisis.
“I am determined to honor your confidence. Putting into practice the commitments for which the citizens elected us. So that every citizen throughout the country enjoys prosperity by 2027,” Mitsotakis promised.
Unemployment in Greece is near 10 percent, the second highest in the EU, and GDP per capita in purchasing power is among the lowest in the bloc, just as food and energy prices have risen.
Greece’s Mitsotakis handouts for pensions and minimum wage
Mitsotakis announced higher pensions for 2 million pensioners starting in January 2025 and a new increase in the minimum wage as of April 2025. He said the government aims to raise it from 830 euros today, to 950 euros by April 2027.
He also pledged a 1 percent reduction in insurance contributions instead of the planned 0.5 percent and the reduction of the taxable income for villages and towns of up to 1,500 inhabitants.
Greece will also impose a cruise fee per passenger disembarking at a Greek port, which will be higher in popular tourist hotspots such as Santorini and Mykonos.
His speech had something for almost everyone: private and public sector employees, farmers, and, especially families, with the incentives to buy homes and have more children.
The measures sent the message, which he made quite explicit toward the end of his speech, that he wants no one to be left behind in what he presented as a strong progress forward toward higher prosperity and competitiveness.
“We have in front of us 1,000 days…to make good on all our commitments,” he said.
Citizens feel the pinch of the rising cost of living
Mitsotakis is trying to balance appeasing voters and maintaining fiscal prudence, Reuters says in a report. The economy has achieved higher than targeted primary surpluses the last few years, making space for additional spending without endangering its economic health.
While Greece has staged a steady recovery from the 2009-2018 debt crisis many ordinary citizens still feel the pinch.
Mitsotakis’ center-right New Democracy party (ND), re-elected in 2023 on pledges to increase wages, has seen a drop in popularity, reflected in a loss of seats in European parliamentary elections this year.
Recent opinion polls show that ND hovers just above 20 percent in popularity. However, none of the main opposition parties have succeeded in catching up. Socialist PASOK and leftist SYRIZA are in turmoil.
PASOK is set to hold a leadership election next month, while SYRIZA’s leader, Stefanos Kasselakis, is facing open challenges from within his party.
Related: Greece’s Growth at 2.3 Percent in Q2, Second Biggest in the EU
