Greek government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis on Saturday sharply criticised a speech by main opposition PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis, accusing him of offering a "rain of billions" in costless promises and of proposing policies that the government says it is already carrying out.
Marinakis, who serves as deputy minister to the Prime Minister and government spokesperson, said Androulakis's speech had a bit of everything: a flood of billions, costless promises, and policy proposals, many of which were already being implemented by the government that Androulakis routinely vilified.
Housing proposals questioned
Marinakis singled out Androulakis's housing pledges, saying the PASOK leader had promised restrictions on short-term rentals that already exist, and incentives to bring shuttered homes back onto the market that are also already in place.
Health and education claims disputed
The spokesperson made a similar argument about health policy, saying Androulakis had promised national preventive medical screening programmes that the government already runs, along with modern hospital infrastructure at a time when what he described as the largest modernisation programme in the history of Greece's National Health System is under way, funded through the European Union's Recovery Fund.
On education, Marinakis said Androulakis had spoken of a "New Lyceum" and a "National School Leaving Certificate" even though the government had already opened a dialogue on reforming secondary schooling.
Constitutional revision and Article 86
Marinakis also raised the issue of constitutional reform, focusing on Article 86, which governs how government ministers can be investigated and prosecuted for offences committed in office and has long been a subject of debate over ministerial accountability in Greece. He said Androulakis had stated he would change Article 86 in a future revisory parliament, yet PASOK had voted against revising that same article in the first vote held in the current parliament.
Economic pledges without a price tag
Turning to economic policy, Marinakis criticised Androulakis for promising the return of a 13th monthly salary and a 13th pension payment without citing specific spending figures for any economic measure he announced.
He closed by saying that what was missing from Androulakis's speech, once again, was a realistic and costed plan for the country.
Androulakis is the president of PASOK, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement, Greece's main opposition party. Marinakis speaks for the New Democracy government as its official spokesperson, a role that regularly puts him in direct rhetorical conflict with opposition leaders following their major policy speeches.
