Incredible things are happening within ND, showing that as we approach the polls and some realize what is coming, they are beginning to break their silence. The situation, despite Mitsotakis's efforts, shows that things are out of control inside the government and the parliamentary group. Most striking of all is that the shrapnel is now starting to hit the prime minister himself. There are government officials charging Mitsotakis with tolerating figures and behaviors that damaged the government and ND.
He didn't take heads
As they characteristically say, instead of taking heads so others would understand that such behavior is not tolerated, he actually rewarded them, adding that now that he tries to rein them in, he cannot succeed. On one hand, being in a prolonged pre-election period, and on the other, the battle for the preference vote having begun, the capacity to react has been restricted.
Vlachos's bombshells
Characteristic once again were the remarks of MP Giorgos Vlachos in Parliament. The blue MP did not let Markopoulos's answer regarding consistent borrowers and funds slide. It is not the first time Giorgos Vlachos picks up the gauntlet inside Parliament when he considers that the government fails to answer the substance of the questions he raises. Yesterday, however, the blue MP made sure to clarify that government answers do not always pass... without a second word. The occasion was the response of Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance Dimitris Markopoulos, with Vlachos raising his voice and stating characteristically: "You answered many things I didn't ask. You told me a thousand other things except what I asked. You came to dismiss the question of a strange MP who is nagging you. And I don't like that at all." The... "nagging" certainly did not go unnoticed, as Vlachos has proven in the past that he does not hesitate to press the government when he considers an issue inadequately addressed. And he didn't stop there. He also put investment funds in the frame, directly questioning the government's argument that they will not feel "uncontrolled."
Out of reality
"Tell me which fund doesn't feel uncontrolled, given that their behavior is terrible," he said meaningfully. The blue MP acknowledged that interventions have been made for consistent borrowers, but hastened to note that "they are not enough." He even brought the example of a taxpayer with an annual income of 32,000 euros who pays 12,000 euros a year for a first-home mortgage, wondering what the "reward" for a consistent borrower means in practice. In other words, Vlachos sent a message within the governing majority: consistent citizens shouldn't just hear they are supported – they want to see it in their pockets. "We are out of reality. This climate ahead of elections must change," commented the blue MP. "Let us find our footing in society again and restore contact with broader social strata. So they feel the security that they can lean on the government," he concluded.
Reminiscent of... a minefield
However, within this climate reminiscent of a political minefield, things cannot improve, with Mitsotakis leaking that he is furious, yet having minimal capacity to make a dramatic move to alter the course of events. His only hope is the civil war fully underway in the opposition so he does not fall with a crash. But every passing day, amid this climate in society and his parliamentary group, things will turn for the worse despite psychological boosts from opinion polls. Even these polls do not give him momentum, as over 50 MPs are already in a phase of departing Parliament since they will not be re-elected. Those still fighting are moving time bombs for Mitsotakis as they realize the games played from Maximou Mansion and are climbing up the walls.
Fake... polls
Indeed, they identify people close to the prime minister making leaks even about fake survey measurements in electoral districts to hit figures outside the prime minister's inner circle. Because Greece is a small neighborhood where everything becomes known, involved parties found out and threatened that if these games do not stop, they will make it a battlefield. Mitsotakis was informed about these rigged polls by MPs who asked him to put a brake on them, otherwise he should go ask for votes himself from a boiling society.
The parachutists
Most phenomena are recorded in constituencies where some appeared as parachutists and spend money from the state treasury, holding fiestas and handing out packages. At the same time, the prime minister attempts to change the agenda by launching tours and announcing today the first support package in the Cabinet meeting he convened. The tour itinerary is not limited to Attica. The next stop is Pieria, a tour carrying clear political and developmental symbolism, though the question remains whether MP Koulkoudinas will be beside him — who became nationally known for his views on citizen movement for those lacking money to buy petrol.
Waiting for announcements
At the government headquarters, attention is now turned to Wednesday's announcements on fuel prices. The government has pre-announced interventions for September 30, while a new measure package for heating oil is expected on October 14. The primary message from the prime minister to his associates, according to information transmitted by government sources, is that income support must continue without disturbing fiscal balance. The government simultaneously seeks to maintain reserves in case international energy prices remain volatile.
Pirearchis
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