ATHENS — "Society, hard-working people, young people and the middle class listened to the prime minister at the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) describe his plan for a leap of prosperity for Greece and the Greeks," government spokesperson Yiannis Oikonomou said on Tuesday during a press briefing.

"The confusion that has seized the opposition after the prime minister's speech emphatically proves that (Prime Minister) Kyriakos Mitsotakis replied convincingly to the concerns of Greek society and met the expectations of the citizens," he added.

Amidst the international concern about market dysfunction due to the pandemic and climate change and given the impact of health measures to protect against the coronavirus, the government is raising a shield to protect the country and its citizens from possible price increases, he added. "It is creating a completely safe social protection network for the country and its people. We are acting swiftly, efficiently, carefully and in a considered manner with respect for the Greek citizen," Economou said.

"We are making use of all the possibilities we have for maximising social good. The government is creating a new economic ecosystem: tax cuts, investment incentives, emphasis on the green and digital economy, encouraging young people to access the labour market, new technologies, political and economic development," Oikonomou said.

"The prospects, the opportunities, the support to citizens and businesses are based on the growth we have achieved, they are based on the investments we have attracted, on the extroversion we have achieved, they are based on the jobs created, the businesses started," he said.

"As a government, we recognise that young people have paid a heavy price in the past in order to limit the spread of coronavirus. It is time to give back not only what they were deprived of but to honour them through actions. Because we believe in Greek young people. It is the generation that will lead us to the future. We are determined to offer them everything they need: education, technology, a legislative framework in which to open their wings and create," the government spokesperson stressed.

"The prime minister, the ruling New Democracy (ND) government are actively supporting the new generation, the generation that is called upon to create a different Greece. A Greece that is changing. We are not the ones who will show young people what they will do. With our network of economic and legislative initiatives, we create the framework for them to do what they dream of. Whatever they want."