«Unfortunately, there is no magic solution to Athens» traffic problem,« said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in an interview on the ERT News television program »Synedseis," responding to comments from viewers. He explained that the solution can only be systematic support for public transport and that roads cannot be built in a very short period of time.
«Metro Line 4 is the largest public works project currently underway in the country,» he stressed, noting that this is also a more long-term solution. «In the short term, the focus should be on strengthening the bus service,» he said, adding, «We already have 800 new buses, but that is not enough, and at the same time, the frequency of buses must be increased. The priority is to increase the frequency of the routes most used by citizens within six months, such as bus 550, which starts in Kifissia and ends in Faliro.».
«I must point out, of course—without this being an excuse—that in all major cities around the world, there is traffic in the morning and possibly in the afternoon rush hour, which has worsened in Athens for the reasons I mentioned,» he added.
When asked about the accuracy of Mr. Androulakis« statements in Parliament regarding the price of chickpeas, which is 14 times higher on the shelf than in the field, the Prime Minister initially stressed that it is very unfair, given the complexity of the problem, to take certain prices out of context and try to argue for or against a particular position. »What is the truth? There is a problem of accuracy in the country. I have said this many times, I have acknowledged it. Especially for our fellow citizens who are renting, things are very difficult. But we must also recognize that inflation is now a global phenomenon,« he stressed. He added that what can be done about the problem is to support citizens» disposable income and, at the same time, carry out all the necessary market controls to limit profiteering. «We are voting on a very important reform, which was also proposed by PASOK. A single independent consumer authority that will bring together all supervisory mechanisms and will have the independence and power to impose fines and try to bring as much order as possible to the market,» he stressed. "However, I insist that the solution ultimately lies in citizens having more money in their wallets. This can be achieved through a very bold tax reform, which citizens will see from next year and which will effectively increase their disposable income," he added, while also referring to the rent refund measure.
«We will provide more than €2 billion in the coming months to support disposable income,» Mr. Mitsotakis also said, noting that the government has chosen to support young people and families with children. He added that there will be further measures on housing, which are expected to be announced by the end of the year. He spoke about social compensation and said that the biggest challenge and opportunity is «how we can make use of the many, hundreds of thousands of vacant properties, what are the incentives and disincentives to convince owners to put these properties on the market.»«We have already voted on a series of tax incentives» and «other initiatives will follow for the renovation of closed apartments as a priority, with very favorable repair terms,» and the relevant announcement will most likely be made before the end of the year.
