Mitsotakis’ Government wins vote of confidence
The newly-elected New Democracy government won a vote of confidence in parliament late on Monday night, with a majority of 158. The remaining 148 MPs of the 300-member House voted against the Kyriakos Mitsotakis administration.
“Starting tomorrow we begin working hard. We will honor the trust of the Greek people and will work with a single aim every day: to make the lives of all Greeks better”, the premier said immediately after winning the vote of confidence.
The PM revealed that the government will begin to table legislation to parliament immediately, starting this week.
In addition to a tax reform bill that will be introduced early August, two more draft bills are expected to be tabled in parliament by 10 August. These two pieces of legislation will likely contain provisions reforming the operation of the state.
Moreover, it is suggested that positive surprises may be included in the tax reform bill, which will be pushed through the House as a matter of urgency so that changes to the ENFIA property tax and the debt repayment scheme can apply immediately.
The Ministry of the Interior is also expected to legislate amendments to the operation of municipal and regional councils, ahead of newly elected mayors and governors taking office.
Addressing the House on Monday night, Kyriacos Mitsotakis reiterated his intention to introduce tax cuts, renegotiate primary surplus targets with international creditors, distribute wealth fairly and restore law and order in the country.
For his part, main opposition SYRIZA party leader Alexis Tsipras said New Democracy is pursuing populist politics, accusing the PM of “giving a little to the many and a lot to the few”.
Tsipras went on to doubt that the government will maintain a series of relief measures introduced by the leftist administration in recent months.