In announcements yesterday, the government’s economic team detailed the measures outlined by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) over the weekend.

Finance Minister Christos Staikouras (photo, centre) and his two deputy ministers laid out measures targeting various social and professional groups – from university students and middle class professionals to farmers and stock-breeders.

Yet, with a view to the toughest winter in Europe since the end of WWII – which many in all European countries have described as a “winter of discontent” – the Greek state has a duty to support above all the socially and economically weaker classes.

Unavoidably, the international confluence of events affects everyone and no one, regardless of income, will remain unaffected.

Caring for our fellow citizens who are in the greatest danger, however, must be a top priority in all government planning.

The state has a duty to assist them to the greatest extent possible, because they are not threatened simply by a small decline in the standard of living, but may well face dilemmas heretofore inconceivable for a Western country, such as “food or heating?”

The rise in the income ceiling and the base of calculation for heating subsidies, as well as the increase of the number of beneficiaries of the one-off assistance stipend for vulnerable households, were two steps in the right direction taken by the government.

Therefore, the government is called upon to continue on the path of planning its policies – and adjusting them when conditions make that necessary – guided by the principle of protecting those in the greatest need.

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