MacroPolis

PM denies asylum-seeker pushbacks, argues Covid-19 under control

A wide-ranging interview with Christiane Amanpour gave Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis the opportunity to lay out his government’s position on a number of key issues, including the ongoing tension with Turkey, migration policy, and recent developments on the Covid-19 front.

Greek authorities are adopting yet more measures aimed at containing the coronavirus as part of their evolving response to the latest outbreak of the disease, which shows no signs of abating.

As new Covid-19 infections continue to emerge in Greece and concerns grow about the economic impact of the pandemic, SYRIZA has ramped up its criticism of the government on the healthcare front, as well as on the issues raised by the Pissarides report on economic reform.

The new, and promoted, members of Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s cabinet were sworn in on Wednesday after the first, and minimal, reshuffle since New Democracy came to power.

A steady rise in new Covid-19 cases has prompted the Greek government to intensify its warnings and tighten hygiene measures to bring infections back under control.

A limited cabinet reshuffle – the first since New Democracy came to power just over a year ago - which had been trailed for the last few weeks was announced on Tuesday.

A committee of “wise men” chaired by Nobel laureate economist Sir Christopher Pissarides published on Monday its draft recommendations to the government for transforming the Greek economy.

The authorities are stepping up their efforts to encourage Greeks to take greater care not to spread the coronavirus after a significant rise in confirmed cases over the last few days.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis has announced the formation of a government committee to work on Greece’s strategy for using the money available to Athens via the EU recovery fund, a matter which the prime minister sees as vitally important for his administration and the economy.

The long-awaited decision on compensating pensioners for retirement pay cuts ruled unconstitutional by Greece’s highest administrative court was unveiled by PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Parliament on Wednesday.