«The SYRIZA, to win the election, he has to win the middle ground, to turn left to gain the center, with a radical, realistic and achievable programme», said the president of SYRIZA-PS, Alexis Tsipras, closing the work of the National Conference of the party. Tsipras said specifically: «SYRIZA must win what we call the middle ground. Those who may (inappropriately) describe themselves as citizens of the centre. So, yes, we have to win the centre.‘ However, he explained that the centre is not won by middle-of-the-road policies: »If we want to win the centre, we have to turn left. With a programme that is deeply radical but at the same time realistic and feasible.«.
Addressing the citizens, he underlined: «We do not want to defeat the Right in order to get back into the chairs of power, but in order to have human working relations. With decent wages and rights. For the minimum to go to 800 euros and for this to include all wage levels. To build together a new NHS, with a focus on primary care, with better salaries and incentives for young doctors. The small businessman, the self-employed, the farmer, knows that we want to defeat the right to support the ability to exist. To keep their businesses alive and supported. All Greek citizens know that we want to defeat the Right in order to return justice to the country».
He gave a brief review of his time in government, saying: «There is no doubt that SYRIZA made mistakes. There are no mistakes. But he got the country out of the guardianship. He fixed the debt. He left the public coffers full. He brought back collective bargaining. He raised the minimum wage. He reduced unemployment by ten points with 360,000 new jobs. He propped up public hospitals, gave access to the uninsured. Supported public schools and universities, reformed higher education. It recruited teachers and increased students. He didn't hire police officers and he didn't put up barriers.».
But he also referred to the achievements of the New Democracy government in the last two years: «Two years later, every citizen can reflect on what the New Democracy government promised and what it did. It promised three things: better jobs, less taxes, security. What did it do? It abolished the eight-hour day and made work hell. Instead of drastically reducing taxes, it reduced income and the purchasing power of citizens (accuracy - property values - property values - lower wages). He turned the country into a playground for mafia gangs. Beat the protesters - crime and mafia rampant. He failed in everything he promised. He also failed in the pandemic.».
Mr Mitsotakis is sabotaging health care in the country
He also gave a tough answer to the accusation of Kyriakos Mitsotakis on «health sabotage»: «And now Mitsotakis comes now with audacity and talks about health sabotage. If anyone has done and is doing health sabotage in the country it is Mr Mitsotakis himself. With his inability to manage the pandemic and his constant concern to deal with SYRIZA and not the pandemic.» He then accused him of a conscious effort to divide Greek society and added: «History teaches us that all regimes, all reactionary powers, all authoritarian powers, when they foresee their end, always resort to the same recipe: To division, to the splitting of society, to social and political acrimony. This is what they are doing now. The vaccinated against the unvaccinated, the young against the elderly, the local communities against the refugees, the conservative part of society against the young. A generalized social civil war that is called to hide the responsibilities of the Mitsotakis government and to neutralize social resistance. We will not accept this under any circumstances. Under no circumstances also we will not play the game of division». In his response, he emphasized: «We are here to unite, not to divide. To unite in change, not in submission. To unite for a leap into tomorrow, not a return to yesterday. To unite in electoral victory and the beginning of a new course.».
The victory of SYRIZA is a prerequisite
Concluding, he stressed: «The message of our three-day conference is absolutely clear: The right-wing government is taking the country and the people backwards and must be defeated. The country and the Left and the Left must be defeated. It must also be defeated at the ballot box in a crucial contest for the future of the country. And these ballot boxes should enable the formation of a progressive government. He addressed the citizens and the progressive forces: »Our political goals are clear. Our political goals are clear. We call on all democratic and progressive citizens to embrace them. We invite all progressive forces to comment on them. To take a public position on them. And realism says that the prerequisite for the implementation of this programme by a progressive coalition government that will emerge from the ballot box of the simple proportional representation is the victory of SYRIZA - even by one vote - in the next elections.«.
