“The new measures are heavy and unfair!”

In a written statement published on Saturday night, the finance minister said: “I know that the measures included in the mid-term program and the implementation law are both heavy and unfair. I took upon myself the responsibility to suggest them before completing a week in office because this is the only way to meet a dire national need. We had to have this finalization of the 28bil euros of the mid-term program, from which 5,6bil remained, in order to close the negotiations and meet the requirements for the timely disbursement of the 5th installment”.

He added: “The 12bil of this installment are absolutely essential for the cash needs of the public funds, which in essence are the immediate and vital needs of the people. I have already explained, and am repeating it here, that there is planning for the next step, which includes 3 points:

* first, ensuring the sustainability of the public debt, without which the sacrifices of the Greek people will be in vain
* secondly, the immediate change of the taxation legislation and the forming of a National Taxation System that will remove injustices and contradictions and restore the moral and social balance of the measures
* thirdly, the negotiation of a new support program, which will lead Greece not only to the markets but also to the restoration of its economic independence”

“It is very easy for someone to strongly criticize the tax measures that are unpleasant by nature, but on an existential level. What the country needs right now is stabilization in order to create the perspective that the Greek society is longing for”.

And he concluded: “Therefore, it is a pity to undermine the collective psychology of the country without at the same time providing a complete proposal, less painful and more secure for the people and the national economy. Within the next few days we will have the chance to see the bitter and harsh truth so that everybody will have to take responsibility for their own choices”.