ATHENS – At a time of international crisis, it was imperative to rise to the occasion and protect those that are weakest, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Tuesday after a tour of the island of Salamina.

“Now that we are facing this major energy crisis, which I know has caused great hardship for households and businesses, especially the increases in electricity, I want you to know that we have already done a great deal and if needed will do more. It is the government’s duty to support the citizens, especially when they face crises from outside such as this one,” Mitsotakis said.

The prime minister visited the Salamina town hall and took part in a meeting with the mayor, Giorgos Panagopoulos.

“Salamina is an island that is much larger than many of our fellow citizens realise, next door to Attica, with significant growth potential,” Mitsotakis noted, commenting on the municipality’s inclusion in the ‘Antonis Tritsis’ programme for local government and the important projects that have been approved there.

Salamina has just exited seven years of economic surveillance, after it finally produced a balanced budget following reforms, achieving economic independence. It is to receive 6.0 million euros from the ‘Antonis Tritsis’ programme.

Arriving in Salamina from the island of Revithoussa, Mitsotakis visited the nunnery of Agia Faneromeni and the house once inhabited by one of Greece’s greatest poets, Angelos Sikelianos. His next stop was a centre for children receiving psychiatric support, where he was met by Deputy Labour and Social Affairs Minister Domna Michailidou and other government officials.

The prime minister next visited a centre for women seeking help and support in cases of domestic violence and abuse, praising the work that was done there. Upon his arrival, he was met by Deputy Labour and Social Affairs Minister in charge of family policy and gender equality, Maria Syreggela and other officials.

His last stop was a meeting with friends and members of the ruling New Democracy party on the island, along with ND Political Committee Secretary Pavlos Marinakis and the head of the ND office Stelios Kontadakis.

“A lot of important things have been done but the plan for Greece that I personally envisage…is not a plan that can be completed in one four-year term,” Mitsotakis said, adding that the dilemmas will be raised and discussed at the upcoming ND Conference.

“They are no longer the traditional dilemmas of Left and Right, which perhaps our generation or the generation … of our parents grew up with. Now the main issue is whether we will go forward, whether we will capitalise on the stability that we now have as a country or whether we will slide back into a past that I think we would all like to forget. Our opponents, at their recent congress, have in any case made sure to remind us what it is we escaped from,” he commented.

Mitsotakis said he expected Salamina to be “dynamically represented” at ND’s Conference “to talk about the major problems we face and the country’s course in the future.”