«The pandemic is a dynamic phenomenon and we take the measures that are deemed necessary, examining the epidemiological, economic and social data. The mix of measures is not static. Behind the individual regulations, there is a strategic plan: promoting public health, continuously strengthening the NHS, ensuring the full functioning of the economy, education and social life. The lockdown is not in our planning grid and there will not be one.», stresses in an interview with the newspaper «Kathimerini of Kyriaki» the Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister and government spokesman, Yannis Oikonomou, noting that Christmas calls for maximum responsibility in complying with health measures, but also for the rapid extension of vaccination coverage.
It points out that the Church will do its duty, humanitarian and national and the state will do its job. «We remain goal-oriented and do not seek unnecessary tensions,» he said.
On the opposition's accusations that many mistakes have been made in the management of the pandemic, Mr.Ikonomou replies that Mr.Tsipras has the sad privilege of being the only political leader in Europe who opposes through the pandemic, without any feasible proposals. «Trapped in obsolete logics and interpretative tools, he is behaving irresponsibly, in the midst of multiple crises, as if we were in an election period,» he notes.
He then refers to the government's strategy which, he notes, organised a plan to contain the pandemic, which left Greece largely unscathed for much of 2020.
«We protected the citizens and gained valuable time, which we used for the unprecedented strengthening of the N.S.Y.. Also, we have actively supported the real economy, exceeding society's initial expectations. Finally, we designed a functional, safe and free vaccination programme. Having built the defence, we proceeded to a measured lifting of restrictions. Greece cannot remain closed, although the pandemic leaves no country immune. Greece is being severely tested, but it is enduring and resisting. With losses that could have been less if everyone had actively supported vaccination and rationality. And in the overall picture, of the two years, we are maintaining a better level than most countries,» the government spokesman stressed. .
Speaking on the energy crisis and support for the vulnerable, Mr.Economou noted that the government has diagnosed the problem in time and has put in place a dynamic plan to support society, so that the price increases have the smallest possible footprint on households. «Despite multiple and interconnected crises, the growth we are achieving allows us to offer practical support to people and businesses. Already We have allocated more than €1 billion for energy increases, support for health workers, pensioners and similar measures. We are also gradually reducing unemployment: 170,000 of our fellow citizens now have jobs and income. We are here to offer security and safety,» he stresses.
Also, on the possibility of Turkey exporting the internal crisis it is facing, he said that «Greece is carefully monitoring developments, we are not complacent, but we are not afraid.» «What we have achieved in the last two years has strengthened our geostrategic and geopolitical footprint, both in our neighborhood and in Eastern Mediterranean in general,» he says.
Asked about the goals of the Southwest in the elections and possible partnerships, after stressing that in times of crisis there is no room for experiments and amateurism, he adds «we have made huge preparations -institutionally, organizationally and investment-wise- so in the next period, without the shadow of the pandemic, the march towards prosperity for all will continue even more strongly. So, at election time, with respect for the citizens» judgment and with confidence in our work, we will fight for a clear mandate".
Regarding the operating framework of the media, he notes that the government is planning institutional interventions concerning, inter alia, the the licensing procedure for radio stations and regional television stations. Also, as it says, the government is working towards «redefining the conditions for inclusion in the respective registers of the General Secretariat for Information of print and electronic media and the correlation of their registration with the possibility of receiving state advertising. Finally, the reorganization of the RES in order to meet modern requirements.
