PASOK press spokesperson Kostas Tsoukalas has warned Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis faces a winter of great discontent over rising taxes and economic hardship.
Speaking to broadcaster ERTnews, Tsoukalas stated that the public recognized they had been deceived and said the prime minister would attend the upcoming Thessaloniki International Fair offering only crumbs to maintain an illusion of successful economic policy.
PASOK, officially known as PASOK-Movement for Change, is Greece's primary centre-left opposition party. The Thessaloniki International Fair is an annual trade and political event held in Greece's second city where government leaders traditionally announce major economic policies.
Tsoukalas pointed to recent government budget figures showing a first-half surplus of 1.3 billion euros, noting that 990 million euros of that total stemmed directly from income tax and Value Added Tax collections.
He criticized government plans to focus on self-employed workers at the upcoming fair, emphasizing that tax burdens had already increased on 450,000 self-employed individuals across the country.
Political Battle and Poll Figures
Addressing recent political polling conducted by the firm Interview and published yesterday, Tsoukalas noted shifts in voter support over recent months. He recalled that two months ago analysts estimated Maria Karystianou held third place with 15 percent, PASOK stood in fourth, and former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras would reach 20 percent, though yesterday's poll showed Tsipras dropping by two percentage points.
Tsoukalas asserted that ruling New Democracy remained far short of securing a parliamentary majority. He accused the Prime Minister's Office, known as the Maximos Mansion, of attempting to revive a frozen political division from the Greek bailout era to survive politically.
He said Mitsotakis understood he could not win re-election against a strong PASOK and was attempting to invent an alternative opponent. He added that just as Karystianou was declining in polls, the party associated with Tsipras was falling as well.
Tsoukalas defined the main political contest as a direct fight between New Democracy and PASOK, framing it as a choice between centre-right and centre-left, and between neoliberal policies and social welfare initiatives.
Debt Policy and Foreign Affairs Resignation
Tsoukalas stressed that PASOK viewed New Democracy as its sole political opponent in a single-front fight. However, he claimed the ELAS party appeared to be conducting a single-front attack aimed specifically against PASOK.
Outlining upcoming party initiatives, Tsoukalas announced that PASOK would host an event tomorrow focused on private debt and non-performing red loans, emphasizing the protection of primary family residences. He charged that New Democracy had expanded a doorway for speculative investment funds into a highway of speculation, leading to widespread property foreclosures across Greece.
Turning to foreign policy, Tsoukalas raised concerns over the resignation of Professor Sotiris Serbos, who served as foreign policy advisor in the Prime Minister's Office.
He questioned why the advisor had resigned at a time when the government was shifting its diplomatic doctrine and when the prime minister had declared an end to the period of calm waters in Aegean relations with Turkey. Tsoukalas called it a critical issue for the public to understand current developments surrounding Greek national affairs.
