PM bid to regain public trust and buoy gov’t image

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has called on the members of his cabinet to make efforts to regain the trust of Greek citizens and bolster support for his government and leftist SYRIZA, whose popularity has plummeted.

Tsipras is particularly keen to see a public relations push following the recent upheaval caused by a protracted strike by municipal garbage collectors which is widely regarded as having caught his government off guard. The narrative Tsipras wants his ministers to project is that, with the bailout review completed and fresh loans secured, the country is finally returning to growth.

He aims to deliver the same message himself on a visit to Kozani next Wednesday, when he is to hold the first of a series of regional growth conferences that his government is planning across the country. According to sources, Tsipras plans to herald some key public works projects for the area during his visit. Similar initiatives are to follow the Kozani event aimed at showcasing the potential growth areas of different parts of the country. The government officials to be dispatched around the country for those events are expected to strive to give a sense of reconnecting with the Greek people, the same sources said.

Tsipras has also instructed his cabinet to work on enforcing bailout commitments that have been pledged to creditors. The matter is to be discussed in more detail at a meeting of SYRIZA’s political secretariat in the coming days.