As we approach the national elections, the dilemmas will become increasingly pressing, as, unfortunately, has been the case in recent years. But they certainly do not all rest on the same moral foundation. What I mean is that putting the voter before a choice between stability and political adventurism is not of equal weight to letting off, for example, the firework of \u201ceither us or no one\u201d.<\/p>\n
The stakes of the upcoming national elections, as Mr. Tsipras is trying to sell them with his newly founded party, are so blatantly and so manifoldly invalid that they collapse on their own. Because in reality, the founder and leader of ELAS would very much like to frame the dilemma as \u201ceither Mitsotakis or Tsipras\u201d. But of course he cannot do so, for the simple reason that New Democracy stands at no less than 30%, while Mr. Tsipras\u2019 party is at 15% at most \u2014 at least according to the latest polls.<\/p>\n
The burning issue, however, is the substance. Who can guarantee that, for instance, the more than 100 taxes and contributions abolished by the New Democracy government over its 7.5 years in office will not return to bring the middle class to its knees once again, exactly as happened when Mr. Tsipras was deciding the fate of this country? Who, if not Kyriakos Mitsotakis, can guarantee that the international rating agencies will continue to give a vote of confidence to the Greek economy and to upgrade it? Who would have achieved such an impressive recovery that Greece today borrows from the markets at a lower interest rate than most European countries \u2014 even the US? Whom will the Greek citizen, by common sense, trust as the more reliable ally in the daily battle against high prices? Mr. Tsipras, who limits himself to costless programmatic announcements, Mr. Androulakis with his weathervane positions, or Mr. Mitsotakis, who has repeatedly proven that he listens to people\u2019s real needs and makes sure to intervene in the market to contain prices, without blowing up fiscal balance? The package of support measures announced by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the Thessaloniki International Fair, as well as his care for the price of heating oil with a cap of \u20ac1.75 per litre, are initiatives that very few governments in Europe would dare to undertake \u2014 even though the crisis of high prices, particularly of fossil fuels, due to the continuing tension in the Strait of Hormuz, is an international, literally global problem.<\/p>\n
Fortunately for us, the recent paean to Greece by The Times of London did not take into account the thunderous yet meaningless \u201ceither us or no one\u201d. The reports of the British Times (and of many other authoritative international media), prompted by the wave of relocation of extremely wealthy businesspeople such as Chris Rokos and of large investment funds such as Millennium Management, present the case of our country as an example to be studied and emulated, not avoided.<\/p>\n
The climate, therefore, is particularly favourable for Greece at present, and it would be a painful mistake if we did not make sure it stays that way. The country is moving forward without looking back at the traumatic experiences of the economic crisis before 2019. And in order to keep moving forward, it needs a single-party government, formed the day after the elections and from the very first Sunday. A government based on a solid parliamentary majority of New Democracy. With Kyriakos Mitsotakis as Prime Minister \u2014 the only reliable leader at the helm of a ship preparing to cross troubled waters, both domestic and international.<\/p>\n