Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is spearheading the government’s efforts to tackle everyday challenges, holding regular meetings with ministries at the Maximos Mansion.
These discussions aim to accelerate the implementation of the government’s program and achieve tangible results in the coming months.
On Tuesday, Health ministry officials met with the Prime Minister to discuss healthcare priorities, a key focus emphasised during Mr. Mitisotakis’ recent speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF). He highlighted healthcare and wage increases as the two critical areas on which his government will be judged at the end of its term.
The health ministry meeting focused on launching free afternoon surgeries and improving emergency response times at public hospitals.
Today, Minister of Health Adonis Georgiadis is expected to provide further details on these initiatives. The European Commission has approved €51 million in funding to support afternoon surgeries for citizens who cannot afford private healthcare and have been waiting months, or even years, on surgery lists.
It is estimated that by early November, 37,500 surgeries will commence, funded through the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
Priority will be given to patients who have been on waiting lists the longest, as part of a broader strategy to reduce the backlog of surgeries in public hospitals. This will be closely monitored through the newly implemented unified digital surgery list, overseen by Deputy Minister of Health Marios Themistokleous.
However, inflation remains a major concern for the government, as it continues to erode wage increases announced at TIF.
According to the Hellenic Statistical Authority, inflation in August rose to 3%, up from 2.7% in July. Despite this, government officials remain optimistic, believing that the worst of the inflation crisis is behind them. They expect price improvements, particularly in food, shortly.
“Inflation appears to be easing. While we haven’t seen deflation yet, inflation is decreasing, and in some categories, such as food products in supermarkets, we are seeing price reductions,” said government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis in an interview with SKAI.
He acknowledged, however, that much of the wage increases in recent years have been offset by rising prices.
The average salary has increased from €1,046 in 2019 to €1,300 today, but Marinakis admitted that the 22% wage growth and the 27% rise in the minimum wage are not being fully reflected due to inflation.
On a more positive note, prices for school supplies have shown a decline. According to the Ministry of Development, the “student basket,” which includes 11 essential school product categories, has seen price reductions of 5% to 10% compared to September 2023.
By Giannis Kantellis