«SYRIZA-PS President Alexis Tsipras described yesterday’s speech in Parliament by members of the Azov Battalion as a »major blunder« on Zelensky’s part and a »fiasco” on the government’s part, said SYRIZA-PS President Alexis Tsipras during an interview he gave today as part of the Delphi Economic Forum.
The leader of the official opposition expressed his «sympathy» and «solidarity» with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who, as he emphasized, is the elected leader of a country under attack, but clarified that he should not have brought «fighters, members of neo-Nazi organizations,» and assessed that this misstep is harmful both to Greece and to Ukraine. «In reality, this serves to validate the invader’s propaganda rhetoric,» Alexis Tsipras said pointedly, while regarding Zelenskyy’s failure to mention the Cyprus issue, he noted that although he had requested such a reference, he did not expect it to happen. In this context, he described the issue of Turkey’s geopolitical «upgrade” as critical, noting that Turkey now »pretends to be a peacemaking, mediating force,« while »for the past 48 years, it has been a power that violates international law« through its occupation of Northern Cyprus and has engaged in »revisionist rhetoric.«.
The president of SYRIZA-PS launched an attack on the government over its strategy regarding the current crisis in Ukraine and Turkey’s role, arguing that it has acted with «carelessness.» «It was not at all necessary for Greece to be among the first countries to send military equipment to Ukraine. It was absolutely necessary to condemn the invasion and stand with Western countries in defense of international law,» he said, explaining that Greece has a «unique opportunity» to serve as «both a pillar of stability and a bridge.» Furthermore, he denied that he is “sitting on the fence” regarding the war in Ukraine and clarified: «We are neither pro-Russian nor anti-Russian, nor pro-American nor anti-American. We stand for peace and stability. And with the national interests of the country.» He also reiterated his view that appealing to The Hague is the only way forward for resolving disputes with Turkey.
Regarding the issues of inflation and the energy crisis—which kicked off today’s interview with the leader of the official opposition—he spoke of an “intractable equation,” since while incomes remain stable or are decreasing, financial obligations are increasing. He even expressed concern that this is creating «conditions of social crisis.”.
Continuing, he once again accused the government of proceeding with a «hasty» and «unplanned phase-out of lignite,» something that is evident, as he said, from the latest about-faces, while he also referred to the privatization of the Public Power Corporation (PPC), which «ended up playing a leading role in profiteering.» «The big picture is that we are not living in normal times. We must decide how we want the Public Power Corporation to operate—guided by the public and common good, or by increasing the profits and dividends of private investors who have entered the market with the sole aim of making a profit,» he emphasized, while stressing that SYRIZA’s primary concern is the common good and reducing exorbitant utility bills.
Furthermore, he harshly criticized the prime minister for «leaving the summit without securing the decoupling of energy prices from natural gas,» as had been done by Spain and Portugal, with whom Greece had initially aligned itself, but also that he failed to make use of any of the European Commission’s toolkit for addressing the energy crisis. «And especially regarding the taxation of so-called windfall profits,» as he said, adding: «He told us it would reach 90%. They’re still counting—or rather, they’ve lost count.».
When asked about nuclear energy, Alexis Tsipras noted that «aside from the very serious concerns regarding the environmental impacts,» there are also doubts about the economic benefits since, as he noted, it is an expensive and long-term investment. Instead, he emphasized, the development of green energy production must be widespread throughout society, and he advocated for «self-generation» and «self-consumption» of energy from renewable sources.
The president of SYRIZA-PS, when asked to comment on the economic outlook, addressed the issue of stagflation and emphasized that the greatest risk for countries—especially those with high levels of private and public debt—is facing a social crisis. Therefore, he said, a European response is necessary, and specifically proposed extending the exemption from the Stability Pact’s rules and the requirement for high primary surpluses, as well as establishing Eurobonds to address the consequences of the war and the energy crisis.
In response to questions about elections under the simple proportional representation system and political alliances, Mr. Tsipras expressed his conviction that Greece can be like other major European democracies that have coalition governments and that, time and again, «single-party and arrogant governments have brought hardship to the country and are not as stable as coalition governments could be—governments based on programmatic convergence, not opportunistic and fleeting alliances.» He made it clear that «such governments cannot be formed by two forces that are diametrically opposed,» «with Mr. Mitsotakis, who holds an extremely neoliberal view of the economy and society.» He noted, however, that they can be achieved with forces capable of finding common ground on policy.
He stressed that «it is an affront to the people’s verdict to presume that elections under the simple proportional representation system will fail and that you want to sabotage them,» and stressed that elections under a simple proportional representation system can yield a majority based on coalitions. «We are therefore clearly addressing all the forces that wish to identify themselves as progressive, and we are telling them that there must be a dialogue—not based on who likes whom, but on theessential changes and reforms, and the policy positions the country needs,» he emphasized. He referred to issues such as raising the minimum wage, a plan to protect small and medium-sized businesses, a new model of production, and support for young people and their housing needs. Mr. Tsipras noted that parties that identify as progressive must take a stance on these issues «and lay their cards on the table.» «Not on election night with simple proportional representation. They must lay their cards on the table before the election. The Greek people need to know why they should vote for a particular candidate and what direction post-election coalitions will take. We shouldn’t be pulling hidden aces out of our sleeves the day after the election.’.
When asked whether he would accept a third person in the position of prime minister, he clarified that he believes in collaboration, but he also believes that «prime ministers—that is, leaders, the people who play a crucial role in the country’s affairs—must be elected by the Greek people and not behind the scenes,» and that «the people will decide, by giving power to the parties, who will govern them.».
When asked to comment on whether his statement that George Papandreou inherited fiscal chaos from Kostas Karamanlis was related to a move toward the progressive camp and Nikos Androulakis, Mr. Tsipras said that his statement «is a reflection of reality.» «Indeed, I’m not the one saying this—the numbers speak for themselves. The Karamanlis government handed over to the PASOK government, led by G. Papandreou, an unprecedented deficit—and in fact, it was initially estimated to be much smaller than it ultimately turned out to be—and that was the reason we were led into the crisis, though it’s another matter whether the right steps were taken afterward,’, he said. Mr. Tsipras added that he subsequently inherited a situation that was »dramatic« and commented that »no other Greek prime minister has ever entered the Maximos Mansion without having money in the coffers to pay pensions.« He said that after 4.5 years, his government handed over a country »out of the memoranda, with its debt restructured, with positive growth rates for nine consecutive quarters, and with 37 billion in the public coffers.« He emphasized that if these conditions had not been in place during the pandemic, the country would have faced another debt crisis.
Regarding the polls, he noted that he sees “the gap narrowing,” «not at a rapid pace, but at a pace that is very concerning for the ruling party.» «By September, Mr. Mitsotakis will be facing a very serious problem if he continues like this,» he added. «The polls look good, but the problem with them is that at some point elections are held and they are proven wrong,» commented Mr. Tsipras.
Speaking about the convention and the election of a collective leadership by the rank and file, he noted that during a crisis in the party movement, it is necessary to strengthen democracy within the party organization and that such an effort is underway, as well as an effort «to clarify what it means to be a party member». He said that membership entails obligations and rights, «so we are opening up, but at the same time, we are not uncritically adopting the model where someone who isn’t even a party voter goes to vote in internal party processes to elect the leader of another party.» «We want to increase our membership and foster a culture of active participation among these members, both in internal party affairs and in matters concerning society,» he emphasized. He said that membership has tripled during this period, but that this is not enough, and that the convention and the election of the collective leadership by the rank-and-file «establishes a framework that is an active challenge, and we will do everything we can to succeed.» When asked what turnout percentage in the leadership election would satisfy him, he replied that it is the last thing on his mind because he has been elected several times with high percentages in SYRIZA and has received millions of votes as party leader. «So,» he continued, «I am not being judged by this process as an individual; what is being judged is the strategy that I want and am fighting collectively to implement as a party, to create the conditions for a party that has been upgraded to one with high-quality internal democracy, but also a party capable of governing the country again—because I believe we will soon be called upon once again to pull the chestnuts out of the fire.’.
