Economou: The government will continue to stand by the citizens as long as the crises last

"With constant efforts, the government stood by the citizens and the country showed a resilience that many did not expect. This effort will continue as long as the crises last, in all aspects of economic life," government spokesperson Yiannis Economou said on Sunday in a televised interview with the public broadcaster's ERT1 channel

He spoke of “targeted support for very broad social strata” and the need to continue a policy of strengthening the country on all levels, “a prospect which allows Greek society to look at the future with greater self-confidence and optimism.” Economou said the government will continue to give citizens the means to deal with private debt and not reach the point of facing foreclosures, especially for the more vulnerable and for primary residences, while he also referred to measures for pensioners and the “Household Basket” for restraining price increases for staple goods, saying this had managed to keep prices for essential goods stable for 15 weeks.

On the aid sent by Greece to Turkiye after the deadly earthquake, Economou said that Greece’s culture and traditions “would not permit anything else but to stand at their side first, and quickly, as neighbours”, stressing that the Greek people and Turkish people had nothing to divide between them. “We have said many times that the Turkish leadership’s entire rhetoric over the previous period leads absolutely nowhere. It has given nothing to Turkey. Our country has, in any case, become much stronger on all levels. It is neither intimidated nor panicked nor threatened. Now we are there to help the Turks cope with this tragedy and these difficult conditions,” he said. The spokesperson also touched on the controversy surrounding degrees from schools of the arts.