PASOK: “From the best in Europe to better than Bulgaria”
PASOK parliamentary spokesman Pavlos Geroulanos ridiculed the government’s shifting narrative. “You started in 2019 claiming Greece was the best in Europe. Then you said we were better than SYRIZA. Now you’re saying we’re better than Bulgaria. Well done,” he quipped, addressing Development Minister Kostis Hatzidakis.

Geroulanos criticised the government’s approach to banking. “You told us to be patient with the banks because the prime minister would solve everything. How many times have you called us populists and warned that we’d close the banks? Meanwhile, we’ve seen no investors fleeing—only demands for dividends. Where is your vision for Greece’s future?”

SYRIZA-PS: Fiscal irresponsibility and banking profits
SYRIZA-PS parliamentary representative Nikos Pappas accused Hatzidakis of “fiscal irresponsibility,” citing the privatization of state-owned bank shares, which he claimed cost taxpayers €40 billion. “You’re ready to tango with the banks after years of their profits, which in 2024 are expected to reach €4 billion. Meanwhile, 70% of depositors hold accounts with barely €1,000.”

Pappas called attention to growing inequality, arguing that the government’s policies disproportionately benefit the wealthy while ignoring the struggles of ordinary citizens.

KKE: “Where do you live? In towers?”
Thanasis Pafilis, parliamentary spokesman for the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), lambasted the government for being out of touch with working-class realities. “Take all the data you’ve cited about Greece’s so-called global success, print it out, hand it to the MPs applauding you, and try presenting it to the people. Their response will be scathing.”

Pafilis decried the bleak conditions facing the working class and accused the government of serving only the wealthy. “Go to the families of workers and tell them that Greece is thriving. Meanwhile, the minority you serve drinks the blood of the workers,” he said.

Freedom Movement: A call to reduce VAT and symbolic gestures
Zoe Konstantopoulou, leader of Course of Freedom, urged the government to reduce VAT on basic goods and provide relief to vulnerable groups. She also proposed a provocative symbolic gesture: “Since you celebrate raising the minimum wage to €830, I suggest MPs live on this amount for the next 41 years. Use the rest to repay the €500 million your party owes to the banks, the same banks seizing citizens’ homes over debts as small as €1,000.”

New Left: “Winners and losers in your policies”
Efi Achtsioglou of the New Left accused the government of advancing policies that favour the wealthy and big business at the expense of ordinary workers. “There’s no national interest in your politics—only winners and losers. The winners are the well-off and large businesses, while the losers are average Greek workers. End the narrative of national interest. It’s clear your policies serve the few at the expense of the many.”

Five-day debate ahead of vote

The budget debate began on December 11 and will conclude on December 15 with statements from Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, opposition leader Nikos Androulakis, and other parliamentary leaders. A roll-call vote will follow, deciding the fate of the proposed fiscal plan for 2025.

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