Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis began his customary review of the previous week, issued every Sunday, by referring to the significance of the 51st anniversary of the 1973 Polytechnic Uprising and its continued relevance in the present day.
"Our democracy took root and progressed as never before in the last 50 years, overcoming hard trials, most recently the decade-plus-long economic crisis. However, it is now up against new challenges, such as Artificial Intelligence and the climate crisis. Challenges that widen old inequalities and create new ones in the world, making the justified demand of societies for protection of their rights and faster satisfaction of their needs by their governments even more urgent," Mitsotakis stressed. In this effort, he added, the Polytechnic's message of "unity and solidarity in the face of a common enemy" was as relevant as ever.
"The lowest common denominator of our efforts - in spite of our individual differences - is to implement policies that leave no one behind," he added.
He also assured readers that the government will not allow excessive increases in wholesale electricity prices to be "passed on" to consumers, while calling for a permanent mechanism to prevent excessive profits at the expense of consumers and businesses.
"A European Commission delegation is coming to Athens next Friday for an urgent discussion on this issue, which I highlighted at the climate conference in Baku," Mitsotakis added.
Among others, he highlighted the recently passed laws on healthcare and the start of 37,000 free evening surgeries with money from the Recovery Fund. The aim he said, was to reduce waiting times for surgeries in the National Health System to a maximum of four months.
Mitsotakis also stressed the reforms regarding NHS Personal Doctors for each patient, ensuring an adequate supply of doctors equipped to serve as general practitioners and other healthcare system measures.
Other topics touched upon in the review included action to curb violence involving juveniles, the 'Safe Youth' panic button app and other anti-bullying measures, as wekk as action to combat violence targeting women.
Regarding high prices, the prime minister said the government will not cease its efforts to lower retail prices, while he highlighted the new Open Business platform aiming to simplify the procedures for founding a business.
He went on to refer to the conclusions of the climate conference, the results of the U.S. elections and global affairs, especially Europe's efforts to remain competitive with a focus on supercomputers.