Main opposition New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis had a meeting with European Parliament President Antonio Tajani on Wednesday in Munich, where he is attending a meeting of the European People’s Party (PES) Group. Talking to Greek reporters afterward, Mitsotakis said that events in Italy dominated their discussion
Noting that there were “interesting” similarities between Italy and Greece, Mitsotakis expressed hope that Italy will not have to go through the same process as Greece and pay the same high price.
When he addresses the EPP Group on Thursday, Mitsotakis said, he intends to propose solutions on how Europe’s centre right can counteract populism, and explain how ND has reinvented itself, transforming itself from and old and worn political party to one heading toward a major election victory.
Mitsotakis also suggested that events in Italy, as well as a failure to bring interest rates down to the average for other European countries, would prevent Greece’s return to the markets on sustainable terms this summer, though noting that he will once again raise the issue of debt relief.
According to Mitsotakis, the country was paying the price for its “unreliable government” and debt relief, while essential, was not in itself sufficient to solve the problems, whose real solution was rapid economic growth. The great political change that was coming in Greece would give the country a government with great determination for reforms, he added.