The Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, spoke on CNN with the network correspondent in Athens, Nic Robertson, in the context of a news story on the successful response to the coronavirus pandemic in Greece by the Greeks.
“It will be a very different summer. But we hope that the worst is now behind us. And again, what remains as a legacy from this crisis is the sense of collective success. And I dare to use the word pride. Greeks have not felt proud for a very long time”, Kyriakos Mitsotakis emphasises during the interview.
Referring to the prospects of the tourist season, the Prime Minister noted: “In the best case scenario, Greece will be open for tourism activity from July 1 and we are working towards this direction. Therefore, we are preparing for this. But this is also certainly related with the airlines, as most people fly to Greece. And it’s also related with very strict and enforceable protocols.”
Talking to the network’s correspondent in Athens, the anchor of the show Julia Chatterley noted that “the swift lockdown measures taken by the government have saved lives”, adding: “The message is also that Greece will be ready for the summer holidays period”.
“The new Prime Minister of Greece is not a populist, like his predecessor, he is a pragmatist and attributes to this trait (pragmatism) his success and the country’s success in handling COVID-19 so far. On the fact that they took lockdown measures before there were any deaths in the country”, mentions the multi-awarded journalist among other things, in a correspondence from Syntagma Square, noting that the total human losses in Greece are less than those recorded in other countries during a single day.
Going on to add: “I visited a hospital and the COVID wards. There are still people in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) but the vast majority of ICU beds are empty and the doctor in charge of the central hospital for COVID here in Athens told me that no doctor, no nurse has been infected with the virus. And this is something perceived as the new normal all over the world, namely that if you belong to the medical and nursing staff on the front line, there is a very high probability that you will contract this virus. This did not happen here in Greece. Why? Because the Prime Minister implemented a strict lockdown early and there was sufficient personal protective equipment for health care professionals.”
Find here Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ conversation with Nic Robertson:
Nic Robertson: Greece’s economy relies heavily on tourism, 20% or more depends on tourism. So opening up means letting in tourists.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Not at the first stage. We are no more dependent (on tourism) than other countries, such as Portugal, or even to certain extent Spain. All southern countries are heavily dependent on tourism. Now the real question is whether we will be able to have tourists come later in the summer.
Nic Robertson: Will you?
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Only if we agree to very specific protocols, hopefully at a European level. Let’s assume people will get tested before flying and then we will carefully monitor them(either an antibody test or a PCR test). And then, of course, the tourism experience this summer may be slightly different from what we had in previous years. With more social distancing. There may be no open bars, there may be no overcrowding, but you will still be able to have a great experience in Greece, provided the global epidemic is on a downward path. But in the best case scenario, Greece will be open for tourism activity from July 1, and we are working towards this direction. Therefore, we are preparing for this. But this is also certainly related with the airlines, as most people fly to Greece. And it’s also related with very strict but also enforceable protocols.
Nic Robertson: Can you give us an idea on how big you think the financial loss might be, as a percentage?
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: I have avoided making predictions because (depending on the developments), things may be very different. I do not want to give you a broad assessment, but of course the situation will be much worse if we do not open at all (for foreign tourists) in the summer.
Nic Robertson: So you have to!
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: If we manage to welcome some tourists, things will be better. But as you know, there seems to be a consensus among most European countries as to what could happen at a rate of about 10%, which is a huge reduction in activity.
Nic Robertson: It’s going to be a very different summer, isn’t it?
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: It’s going to be a very different summer. But we hope that the worst is now behind us. And again, what remains as a legacy from this crisis is the sense of collective success. And I dare use the word pride. Greeks have not felt proud for a very long time. Because, you know, we had been the punching bag of Europe for ten years.
Nic Robertson: Does that change things?
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: I think that things have change in terms of our self-confidence, but also confidence in the state. I am not saying confidence in the government necessarily. But people trust the state. They trust the experts. The first thing I did was to give the floor to our top epidemiologist. And he is the one doing the daily briefing. It’s not me.
Nic Robertson: This seems, I dare say, to be a very strong message for the United States, for the United Kingdom, whose trunk records at the moment on this pandemic are probably some of the worst in terms of death and infection rates.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Well, everyone is doing it in their own way. That is the way it is!
Nic Robertson: I know, but is there a right way, and does Greece have the right way?
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: I don’t think there is a single right way. But I think we clearly did it, at least in terms of the first phase, so far I think we’ve done it the right way.
