English
Σάββατο, 25 Αυγούστου 2018 14:24

Mitsotakis promises to abolish social security bill burdening self-employed professionals

Main opposition New Democracy (ND) leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis launched into his own late summer mini political "offensive" over the weekend, promising to abolish portions of controversial pension and labor reforms - products of the third memorandum signed by the Tsipras government - that skyrocketed social security contributions owed by self-employed professionals.

Main opposition New Democracy (ND) leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis launched into his own late summer mini political "offensive" over the weekend, promising to abolish portions of controversial pension and labor reforms - products of the third memorandum signed by the Tsipras government - that skyrocketed social security contributions owed by self-employed professionals.

In an interview published in the Saturday editon of the Athens daily "Ta Nea", Mitsotakis, whose center-right party continues to lead ruling SYRIZA by double-digit percentage points in practically all mainstream opinion polls over the past year and a half, also promised to overturn changes to the election law, ones pushed through by the leftist-rightist government in 2016.

Citing an intent to make the country's election system, and by the extension the exercise of government, more "democratic", the mostly leftist Tsipras coalition pushed through changes - set to be implemented after the next general election - for a more simple representational system. Conversely, most of the mainstream opposition charged that a more simple representational system generates weak governments and "backroom" political dealing.

Mitsotakis also dismissed any possibility of post-election cooperation with the founder and head of the right-wing Independent Greeks' party (AN.EL), Panos Kammenos. The latter is the current defense minister and a one-time ND deputy, who was expelled from the party only to establish his own small rightist-populist party. The latter also serves as the junior party in the "strange bedfellows" coalition government in power since January 2015.

As far as the unpopular pension reform bill, dubbed the Katrougalos bill after the minister who held the portfolio at the time, Mitsotakis said it not only "imposed additional reductions on pensioners, but its reasoning is to punish working people," while adding that it is an incentive for tax and contribution evasion.

Finally, he said his party will not forget the deadly wildfire that swept through the coastal Mati settlement late last month, a blaze that claimed the life of nearly 100 people so far.