The government’s announcement of a 4.8% primary surplus – nearly double the post-bailout targets and hailed as a “positive surprise” – was quickly followed by a round of triumphant declarations of handouts from PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his economic advisory council. “The best is yet to come,” Mitsotakis proclaimed at the close of his message. “Housing is a right,” declared Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis. This isn’t just a case of “crumbs from the table” – a token return of what’s been stripped from society, as Mitsotakis himself once said in opposition. It’s become a permanent pattern of governance: the government feigning concern while staging solutions to solve crises it has either created or intensified – crises that have led to a steep rise in the cost of living for the majority. We’ve seen this supposedly benevolent government facilitate profiteering in health, energy, inflation, banking fees – and now, housing.

By Thanos Kamilalis

On every economic issue that escalates into a crisis, Mitsotakis’ government consistently follows the same playbook:

  1. Implements policies that cause or exacerbate the problem.
  2. Leaves the market entirely unregulated, letting profiteering run wild while society bears the brunt.
  3. Only once public outcry becomes overwhelming does it step in, posing as a saviour to supposedly “solve” the problem it created.
  4. It then self-congratulates for these “generous” fixes, often insisting, “We know people are struggling, we’re not celebrating – except we are.”
  5. These measures are meticulously choreographed to appear substantial – especially if you’re not directly affected.
  6. It elicits sympathy from its audience: “How much more can Mitsotakis give?” Meanwhile, the root causes remain untouched, and profiteers are left undisturbed. Mission accomplished.

This same formula has been applied across a range of issues affecting citizens’ fundamental needs. After six years of Mitsotakis in power, we’ve seen this pattern in health, energy, the cost of living, banking fees – and now in housing.

Health

From the gutting and neglect of the Public Health System (ESY) – which led to shuttered surgical wards and massive waiting lists – the government’s “solution” came in the form of paid afternoon surgeries, charging patients who’ve already contributed thousands through taxes and insurance. Yet again, they found a PR-friendly spin: while the Health Minister posed for photos beside a patient finally getting surgery after years of waiting, the government announced that the first 34,500 surgeries would be funded through the Recovery Fund – i.e., free for now. But once the vouchers run out, patients will be left paying up to €2,000 out-of-pocket for procedures that, in a functioning public system, should be covered.

Energy

Here, we saw direct subsidisation of extortionate energy providers. As expected – and as has happened globally – privatising the power sector led to steep hikes in household bills. When the war in Ukraine broke out and providers began charging whatever they pleased, the government washed its hands: “It’s Putin’s fault, full stop.” No intervention, no regulation, no push to renationalise the National Power Corporation (DEI), not even discussion of abolishing the energy market model. In fact, just in 2021, the state had gifted away another 17% of its stake in DEI.

As electricity bills soared to dizzying heights – hundreds of euros for households, thousands for businesses – the government began dishing out billions in subsidies, under the guise of social policy. While framed as relief for consumers, these subsidies effectively guaranteed profits for the providers. Mitsotakis even announced a retroactive refund of 60% of excess energy costs for the period between December 2021 and May 2022 – just another moment of government self-applause, boasting of “the EU’s largest subsidies”.

In reality, those billions in supposed consumer aid flowed directly into the pockets of energy firms. But the optics worked: citizens saw lump-sum payments covering part of their astronomical bills. State subsidies appeared as if Mitsotakis was personally footing the bill.

Inflation

Cue the “Mitsotakis vouchers” while the government refused to reduce flat-rate taxes – the regressive VAT and excise tax – even on essentials. Despite its rhetoric of tax cuts, the state continued to rake in increased revenue thanks to rising prices. Greece, still reeling from the economic devastation of the bailout years, now ranks second-to-last in the EU for purchasing power, according to Eurostat. A study by the Centre of Planning and Economic Research that factored in hourly wages ranked it dead last. ELSTAT’s latest Household Budget Survey shows that families are spending more money to buy fewer essentials – and that inflation hits low-income households the hardest.

Most recently, the government introduced a permanent €250 annual benefit for low-income pensioners, uninsured elderly people and individuals with disabilities. These groups, however, will continue to see their living costs skyrocket, while the government claims to be helping them. We have seen similar instances in the past, with“one-off” payments, like the €150 “inflation cheque” at Christmas 2024. Turning these emergency handouts into a permanent fixture does little to improve people’s actual purchasing power.

Bank Charges

For years, the government let banks run wild, imposing outrageous fees on digital transactions. In December 2024, it announced ten measures to address banking charges – a move estimated to reduce bank revenues by just €150 million, despite banks raking in over €2 billion from fees that year, a massive increase from 2023. But the headlines read “zero bank fees”, and that’s all that mattered. As EKPOIZO (Greek non-profit that advocates for consumer rights) pointed out, the measures were toothless – cosmetic changes that cost banks next to nothing. But government announcements served to shut down any wider debate about banking abuse (interest rates, hidden charges, etc.).

Housing

Now, housing is in the spotlight. In recent years, a significant share of “investment” in Greece – indeed, the largest chunk of Foreign Direct Investment according to the Bank of Greece – has gone into real estate. Policies like the Golden Visa have worsened the situation. Even Costas Simitis, a key figure in Greece’s neoliberal turn, acknowledged in 2023 that speculative funds, often financed by loans from Greek banks, are dominating the housing market. “This isn’t foreign investment,” he said, “it’s speculative opportunism.”

We’re now facing an unregulated, overheated housing market with huge demand and scarce supply. ELSTAT reports that rents rose by 10.4% year-on-year in March 2025. Compared to 2019, rents have nearly doubled. Greece now leads the EU in housing costs relative to income: in 2024, the housing burden reached 35.2% of disposable income, versus the EU average of 19.7%.

To defuse public anger, Mitsotakis announced on Tuesday, 22 April, that the government would “return one month’s rent per year.” On the surface, this sounds generous – a sudden cash infusion for people working two jobs to make ends meet. It’s a communications win: the government gets to say, “That rent’s on us.” But this is the same government that fuelled the crisis in the first place. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where this doesn’t end up being a landlord subsidy in disguise, pushing rents even higher. After all, what landlord wouldn’t say, “Well, you’re only paying 11 months on rent now, so what’s the issue?”

As the Thessaloniki Tenants’ Association put it:

“It’s a joke to call the return of one month’s rent a ‘housing benefit’ for tenants. In a completely unregulated and predatory rental market, this just ends up lining the pockets of the usual suspects. By November the money might arrive – and by December, if not sooner, rents will rise again. Landlords, the minority cashing in on the housing crisis, will waste no time ‘self-regulating’ the market to make sure they keep raking in the lion’s share. We’ve already seen this play out with the launch of the ‘My Home 2’ scheme.”

The “My Home” initiatives, heavily promoted by the government, have only succeeded in pushing property prices even higher. It was obvious from the start that this would happen: demand was artificially inflated while supply remained stagnant. Meanwhile, other European countries are using Recovery Fund money to build social housing. Here, Mitsotakis‘ government channels it straight to the banks, via subsidised mortgages. That means the same social groups already excluded from borrowing remain locked out. But the PM’s photo op with a young couple who found a flat through the scheme made for good headlines.

Like every previous “benefit”, these measures – and whatever follows – do nothing to tackle the root of the problem. They offer no real relief to a society where 60 to 70 per cent of people are barely getting by, according to every available statistic. Whether it’s wages that vanish before the month is up, empty savings accounts, or cutting back on basic necessities, all the data points in the same direction.

But this grim reality affects the majority – not everyone. The government speaks to the rest, hoping to dull the anger of those hit hardest, while its media echo chamber mocks them as “miserable”, “moaning”, or dreaming of “money trees”.

For many, what sticks in the end will simply be that “he gave a special address to hand out cash”, that “the government is doing something”, or that “at least it’s better than nothing”. The real issue, though, isn’t just the pitiful size of the handouts, even though they’re a tiny slice of the surplus. The real issue is that the socially damaging policies that fuelled – or even created – this crisis remain completely untouched. Mitsotakis ended his speech with “the best is yet to come.” He wasn’t talking about the rest of us.

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