«2022 can and must become the year of change», when «a progressive government will turn the wheel towards social justice, the strengthening of the welfare state, the protection of labour, the protection of the many from the impunity of the few», says the president of SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance, Alexis Tsipras, in an article in the «Journal of Editors», noting that this is the goal of his party.
Tsipras notes that 2022 is a difficult year, «the battle with the pandemic will continue, despite the reassuring triumphalisms of government propaganda» and «the accuracy will not cease with Mr Mitsotakis» wishful thinking and Mr Georgiades« selfies». He argues that, however, "the accelerating and irreversible deterioration of the government, the growing opposition and reaction of society to the regime's practices, the collapse of the myths of government propaganda, are bringing the end of their regime ever closer. And closer and closer to a new beginning of progress and social justice, with society and for society.".
In his article entitled «2022: A new beginning is a matter of life», the president of SYRIZA-PS harshly criticizes the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and the government and stresses that «political change is now imperative as a necessary condition for the exit from the perpetual nightmare». He points out that «this can only be the pursuit of all forces that want to identify themselves as progressive and harmonise with the demands of the social majority». As he adds, the basic dividing line between the right and the left, between conservation and progress «is condensed into the following and single demand: Elections and political change». According to him, as anyone who avoids taking a clear position on the above demand «will be unable to respond convincingly to the interlude of social need».
The president of SYRIZA stresses that «if we had not had Mr Mitsotakis with his tragic -as it turned out- normality, which is ugly on the wounds of society, we might not have gotten rid of the pandemic, as he celebrated at least three times, but we would have mitigated the drama and the pain and the number of people who perished, while they could have been saved». If the prime minister had not treated the pandemic «as an opportunity for personal, partisan and even economic speculation» from the outset, he says. If he had not «hypocritically applauded doctors and nurses and at the same time not only left helpless, but shrunk and undermined the public health system», if he had not «turned the necessary communication about protection measures and the vaccine into a tool for financing his friends, his image, and his status», if he had not “concealed” the Lytra-Csiodra report and when it was revealed he did not resort to his favourite practice: Evasion, lies, and the murder of the truth.» «If he did not give immunity to bankers in the midst of a pandemic» and «did not distribute billions to cronies and friends through direct assignments, did not abolish the eight-hour workday, did not keep the minimum wage fixed, did not institutionalise the jungle regime ...», he adds.
«No, I am not saying that Mr Mitsotakis is simply incompetent. I am claiming that he is incurably dogmatic and committed to the failed recipes of yesterday,» Tsipras said. He also described the prime minister as «incurably cynical» and accused him of «failing to understand the tragedy and its consequences with the modesty and thoughtfulness that human suffering requires» and that «the crisis is not an opportunity to apply the failed recipes of privatisation, especially in key services for citizens in times of crisis, such as public health, public education and energy». He also accused him of «failing to understand» that «now is the time to support small and medium-sized enterprises instead of leaving them to their fate» and that the minimum wage should be increased, not to liberalise redundancies. «And above all,» he notes, «he fails to understand that at some point reality is so strong that no communication system, no matter how powerful, is sufficient to disprove it,» he continues. He comments that the citizen «cannot be misled by any propaganda» when he sees «the tragic regressions and lies in the management of the fires and the pandemic and at the same time receives the electricity bills and bleeds from the supermarket mark-ups when he realizes that in the third week there is no money to get through the month». «And without confidence you can't manage any crisis,» he adds.
Speaking about SYRIZA-PS, he stresses that the action in the difficult battle «to end the current regime dystopia» requires:
«- The widest possible opening of the party to the social forces that need, want, and support change.
The united will and decisive action on all fronts of struggle to defend the rights of the people, the workers, the middle class who are under brutal attack, to make the demand and slogan “Let them go!” a commonplace of everyday life, without the illusions of ripe fruit.
The plural growth of the party. To open the doors to the most vibrant progressive forces in every region, city, neighbourhood, village, workplace, social stratum and sector, without narrowness, rivalries inherited from the past, personal strategies and reservations of ideological purity.
The decisive strengthening of the collectivity, participatory democracy and the trust of the role of the party members, without exclusions and asterisks, both in taking the most serious decisions and in the election of its collective leadership at the forthcoming 3rd Party Congress».
