Editorial: Signal of stability

It was obvious both from the prime minister’s 10 September address at the 86th Thessaloniki Trade Fair (TIF) and his major televised news conference the next day that Kyriakos Mitsotakis is sending a signal of stability.

That was plain to see both in his announcement of a host of economic measures and in his presentation of his views on geopolitical stability and on how the domestic political terrain must be safeguarded.

In the area of the economy, it is clear that the measures and reforms that he announced – both temporary and long-term – are part of a comprehensive plan for ensuring economic growth and securing the endurance and cohesion of the social fabric in a difficult winter.

There were interventions targeting all social classes.

In terms of geopolitics, Mitsotakis’ stern message to Turkey and against the steadfast revisionist front of Russia was a reminder that Greece is a Western country that is a member of both NATO and the EU and has a strong deterrent force with clear red lines.

As regards the domestic political scene, the prime minister sent a signal that the country faces a dilemma: stability or chaos?

While clarifying that he has no intention of changing the current electoral law, he also put pressure on the third pole of the political system [centre-left PASOK-KINAL, the country’s third largest party] and outlined the serious problems that would emerge for the country from a post-electoral inability to form a stable government, problems that would be aggravated by the fluid international terrain in a period that Greece has a duty to fortify itself in a variety of areas and protect social cohesion.

The government serving out its four-year term and fully implementing its reform programme will contribute to the stability that the country needs.