Mitsotakis considers ministerial dismissals after the TIF for "restart"

The government is facing its own self in the last 24 hours after the tragic events of the summer fires, but also the immense destruction in the Thessalian plain after the passage of the Daniel phenomenon. The direct questioning of the effectiveness of the staff state puts Maximou in a defensive position for a series of events, with the Prime Minister now having to confront not only decades of misdeeds, but also his own political staff.

The formation of the new government last June was followed by a series of crises and failures in people and choices, with the state machinery's failure to respond to specific events adding to the atmosphere, culminating in the way it responded to the flood-affected areas.

The most effective damage management and the immediate relief of those affected - following the announcements of support measures by Kyriakos Mitsotakis - are a gamble for the government staff, at a time when the collapse of the infrastructure and the works carried out after "Janos" have brought to the fore a series of questions about the management of funds and the effectiveness of the state's interventions.

In this climate, both the government's stamina and the managerial competence of certain ministers who are under fire for their mismanagement and inability to intervene decisively at the time of crisis are being tested once again.

According to reports, immediately after the TIF, the Prime Minister will attempt to make a radical "restart" in his government, at a time when, against the backdrop of the tragic events of the day, both in the foreground and behind the scenes, discussions are heating up for a corrective reshuffle with the removal of ministers who either provoked with their public statements or failed to convince that they can rise to the occasion in times of crisis.

Associates of Kyriakos Mitsotakis assure that the Prime Minister will respond to all this at the press conference at the TIF in the coming days, taking responsibility for the weaknesses of the state apparatus, but also showing his intentions for the functioning of the cabinet.

It is obvious that the shadows that loom over the Maximos building leave no room for complacency and political inertia, since everyone admits that the government seems to have lost some of its political confidence after the 41% of the elections and is now being evaluated, compared not with its opponents, but with its ability to manage everyday problems.

In search of resources to heal the wounds 

The natural disaster that hit the productive backbone of the country's GDP has left the central government in a state of emergency, with estimates converging on the fact that the costs - direct and indirect - will be enormous. Faced with the biggest challenge since the deadly passage of the weather phenomenon "Daniel", the government is being asked to come up with a national plan for the reconstruction of the affected areas, with many identifying the required cost of the interventions at over €6 billion, an amount equivalent to almost 6% of GDP in 2022.

Government staff estimate that in order to find the money needed, it will become necessary to adjust the national resource allocation plan, redirect resources from the Recovery Fund, seek additional resources from the NSRF and of course request support from the European Solidarity Fund set up for natural disasters.

It is indicative that experts believe that the reality of the climate crisis obliges the state to commit 1% to 2% of GDP per year to the climate, without taking into account the significant collateral losses from the reduction in agricultural production, which will lead to product price increases and forced imports and the elimination of all business activity for a long period of time in the region of the Thessalian plain.