Greek Left Coalition criticises Mitsotakis over 15-day fuel relief package

Government measures presented at cabinet meeting

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis outlined a series of targeted fuel interventions during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, 30 September 2026. The government presented the package as its official policy response to persistent cost-of-living pressures affecting Greek consumers and household budgets. The intervention introduces a temporary discount of several cents per litre on diesel fuel, scheduled to remain in place for fifteen days. For gasoline, the cabinet announced a voluntary pricing initiative by domestic refineries rather than mandatory price regulations. The prime minister also reaffirmed an earlier target for household heating fuel, pledging that heating oil prices would remain capped below 1.75 euros per litre prior to 15 October 2026. The administration framed these steps as direct measures to contain retail energy costs ahead of the autumn and winter periods.

Opposition reaction to the fuel package

The Greek Left Coalition (ELAS), led by Alexis Tsipras, released an official statement criticising the prime minister's announcements as fundamentally inadequate. The opposition argued that a fifteen-day discount and voluntary corporate pledges cannot resolve structural price pressures across the economy. ELAS stated that family finances require sustained relief rather than short-term government interventions that expire after two weeks. The coalition maintained that temporary measures fail to ease the broader financial strain on household incomes, describing the policy as an ineffective reaction to inflation that misrepresents the real economic needs of citizens.

“High living costs are not suspended for a fortnight. Family budgets do not run on a government stopwatch.”

Proposed tax cuts and profit caps

In its public response, ELAS argued that the prime minister completely ignored the alternative policy instruments previously proposed by the party. The opposition platform called for direct, meaningful reductions in the Special Consumption Tax on fuel products alongside cuts to Value Added Tax rates. In addition to tax reductions, ELAS urged the government to establish statutory limits on profit margins across the entire commercial chain, extending from oil refineries to retail petrol stations. The party argued that binding margin caps would prevent speculative price increases during wholesale fluctuations. ELAS also renewed its call for an extraordinary windfall tax targeting the surplus profits generated by energy and fuel enterprises.

Accusations of communication management

ELAS dismissed the government package as cheap communication management intended to mitigate social dissatisfaction rather than a comprehensive anti-inflation strategy. The party stated that citizens are seeking structural remedies rather than fifteen-day allowances and pre-election hand-outs. According to the opposition, addressing high living costs requires permanent price cuts, strict regulatory inspections at the source of production, and the political will to confront market profiteering directly. The party argued that the prime minister avoided necessary confrontations with commercial interests, leaving consumers without meaningful financial protection.

“The only cap Mr Mitsotakis placed is on citizens' expectations for a decent living.”