Al. Tsipras: «Mr. Mitsotakis, you are politically finished.»

«Three days of debate have shown just how justified the waves of anger and indignation sweeping through Greek society are. »You have failed, at an enormous social, economic, and human cost,’ he said, addressing the prime minister.” Alexis Tsipras, during his speech on the motion of no confidence he filed against the government.

The president of SYRIZA-PS commented that The prime minister is «trapped in the protective bubble of his sycophants of misfortune and pollsters of joy» and stated that «When a prime minister becomes a joke, the subject of ridicule and sarcasm, then that politician is already finished and simply doesn't know it yet.». «Mr. Mitsotakis, you’re politically finished,» he said. «You’re finished,» not only because—as he accused him—he failed «at a tremendous human, economic, and social cost in almost every critical issue you’ve handled» (the pandemic, wildfires, and, to be precise, the recent snowstorm), «but mainly because, even as you fail spectacularly on every front,» he continues to provoke. He commented that citizens have become immune to the «propaganda manufactured» by the government and that this «is obvious at first glance, since no station can report the news anymore without muting the microphones when passersby speak.’.

Mr. Tsipras accused the prime minister of failing, but said he has no intention of changing anything about his policies. He said that instead of apologizing to the Greek people «because one of your key promises was that you would create an efficient government, and you have created an efficient mess,» and that he had «the audacity to point your finger at us again, using the tragedy in Mati as your shield.». «Mati, Mr. Prime Minister, was a collective trauma that demands respect and humility—not the petty partisan games you constantly play to hide your responsibilities.», he emphasized, and asked where Mr. Synolakis had been the day before yesterday to present to the prime minister «his plan to clear Attiki Odos, Marathonos, Katechaki, and Mesogeion in 25 minutes, not 25 hours.» He said that «The government's knowledge and «technocratic competence» were «buried in the snow, just as they were drowned in the floods, just as they were burned in the fires with a wind force of two Beaufort»". He asked where 112 was to send instructions to the stranded drivers. «Where was the government all these hours?» he asked, noting that «even the army, which intervened hastily and without a plan on Tuesday morning—just as soldiers were working to free vehicles and drivers— were ordered to stop what they were doing and gather at Exit 10, where TV crews had gathered to film the scene.». He accused him of doing everything just for the sake of publicity and of offering an «apology» while shifting the blame, as he put it, onto everyone else. «You’re telling us—to convince us that others are to blame—that you even held critical meetings without taking minutes.”. ’In the end, it seems that the only one who was practically holding this government together was Mr. Fourthiotis.», he commented.

The leader of the official opposition stressed that an apology is not enough for the prime minister to clear his name. He said that Mr. Mitsotakis owes «23,275 apologies to every family that lost loved ones to the pandemic», since «you decided not to support the ESY» and «you said that you have no studies to back this up and that it makes no difference whether someone is intubated in the ICU or outside of it.» He said that Mr. Mitsotakis owes an apology to every doctor and nurse who is working consecutive overnight shifts because «you left them alone and abandoned,» an apology to «every family that fears tomorrow and sees their paycheck run out halfway through the month, because you, have encouraged and enabled speculators to impose a head tax on the social majority by driving up prices on basic consumer goods.» and I apologize «to all Greeks, because you—you personally—played on their patriotism and exploited their love for Greece and Macedonia, and you deceived them in the most vulgar way to win a few votes at the expense of the national interest.» Finally, he said that The prime minister owes «103 apologies to the families of those who lost their lives in Mati,» «because you, personally, used those lost lives as a stepping stone to climb your way into government.” »and you continued to do the same even though you knew—as you later admitted—how, why, and in what a short time this unspeakable tragedy unfolded.".

He called on Mr. Mitsotakis to «find a way out of the current impasse» and remarked that, since he is so certain he will win the election, «why doesn’t he call them so he can prove the people’s trust in him?» He raised the question of whether reality might differ from the polls and accused the prime minister of «causing far more suffering, corruption, and lies than our people could bear.’.

Mr. Tsipras argued that the central government «has become, in two years, a target of ridicule and anger» and asked what would happen if this government remained in office until the summer and what preparations it had made regarding the commitments it had announced. He asked, «Why can’t you correct your mistakes?» and What is the result of «hiring a record number of temporary employees, raising their salaries to 70%, and creating a »shell’ ministry for the climate crisis”?». «Communication, communication, and more communication. That was it. An extreme and dangerous form of personal and political narcissism that characterizes your every move,» he emphasized.

He accused the prime minister of being unable to build an effective and efficient government «When you're allergic to the state itself and love only everything that's private». In particular, he accused him of «promotes the encroachment of profit-seeking on public health», that «while people can’t make ends meet this month because of the exorbitant electricity rate hikes, you are fully privatizing the Public Power Corporation (PPC) and the power grids,» and that «you’re expecting the god of profit to solve this by handing out a few crumbs to those who are suffering.» «»So how will the increases in PPC bills be frozen when your logic is centered not on the common good but on stock prices on the stock market?” he emphasized. He accused him of allowed PCR tests to «reach prices reminiscent of the black market during the occupation” »and then you set price caps that are double, and triple, the rates charged by municipalities,« and that »for two years, public hospitals have been falling apart, and you’ve left private hospitals out of the fray.”.

Ο Alexis Tsipras He emphasized that «the major and irreconcilable ideological difference» with Mr. Mitsotakis is that «You side with the interests of the few and hate the state, while we side with the interests of the many and believe in a strong, effective, and humane state.». He emphasized that the second major difference lies in the realm of ethics, arguing that «the SYRIZA government was the most honest and clean government this country has known since the restoration of democracy. We pulled the country out of the abyss of bankruptcy into which you and your allies drove it through corruption, patronage, and nepotism.» And today, he continued, «you have come and thrown a party worse than the one during those days of excess that led us into the crisis.» He spoke about the distribution of 5 billion through direct awards and closed tenders over the course of eighteen months, in the name of the pandemic, and the distribution of tens of millions to the media «without any procedure or transparency». All of this, he emphasized, «when you cut more than 800 million from your budget for the National Health System.» In light of this, he argued that «the government’s complete failure, which has led to social crises and is leading, with mathematical certainty, to new social tragedies, is not only the result of the endemic incompetence of the prime minister and his inner circle, but also of their unyielding tendency toward meritocracy, nepotism, and patronage.».

«Do you run this country, or do the Fourthiotis family?»

Mr. Tsipras posed a series of questions to Mr. Mitsotakis regarding «close ties» with the Menios Fourthiotis «who has more than 30 pending legal cases and who »During your tenure, he became a figure of honor, with 12 police officers guarding him.".

Addressing Mr. Gerapetriti she said that «it is truly sad» for democracy itself, «For a minister—the prime minister’s right-hand man—to be blackmailed by a man facing criminal charges, given his track record’. Addressing the prime minister, he asked him if he was sure about «who governs this country? Do you govern it, or do the Fourthiotis family?» adding that «This is the first time in the country's post-dictatorship history that darkness has fallen over the Maximos Mansion.».

Specifically, he asked Mr. Mitsotakis: «Did you know that half of your government was doing favors for the TV host who is currently on trial? How did he gain access to a 12-officer police detail? How did this man have such close ties with so many of your ministers? How was your right-hand man negotiating the government’s legislative interventions with him, while half the government was running errands for him? Did you know about this, or were you unaware?» In addition, she asked him if he knew that «He set up 13 companies with two foreign nationals from Georgia listed as their legal representatives", shell companies with no actual business activity, with no employees registered with Ergani, and no physical presence at their registered addresses—in order to profit from the suspension of employment contracts due to the pandemic and from refundable advance payments.» He asked him if Mr. Vroutsis had informed him, noting that «when Mr. Vroutsis tried to stop him, the individual in question entered the ministry with bodyguards to intimidate him.» He commented that «Then, quite surprisingly, Vroutsis left the ministry, not Fourthiotis from the Prime Minister's Office’.

Furthermore, Mr. Tsipras stated that «since December 2020, the EFKA General Directorate of Contributions has been sending a document to the Directorate of Planning and Coordination of Audits at the SDOE and the SEPE regarding theinvestigations into compliance with social security legislation regarding a number of companies in which Fourthiotis’s name appears. »These companies are reportedly being investigated to determine whether they are in fact operating legally, or whether they are being used as a vehicle for illegal financial activities.« He added that »of the 13 companies reportedly linked to Mr. Fourthiotis, we know that 11 of them have been credited with refundable advances  in 11 of them, a total amount of 194,883 euros, while an additional 56,987 euros were approved. We are talking about a total amount of 250,870, 65 euros—funds that, according to investigations by the financial police, were credited in early March 2021 and subsequently transferred to justify the granting of a loan of approximately 182,000 euros to the company EPSILON TV, managed by Mr. Fourthiotis.”.

Mr. Tsipras said that the financial police’s investigation has been completed and asked the following questions: «Has it been forwarded to the financial prosecutor’s office or not? When was it forwarded? And why is there a delay? Can you perhaps explain this inaction to us? Were you aware of these facts?» He asked Mr. Gerapetritis what it means to «urge this gentleman: ‘Don’t do them the favor of cowering’? Who are you referring to when you say that? The prosecutors who are after him? Vroutsis, who is accusing him? Us, whom he is targeting? Who did you write that for?».

He emphasized that the above questions are rhetorical «because you know everything and are covering it all up»; otherwise, «you would have dismissed your right-hand man from the very beginning.» «So Mr. Fourthiotis does not have your right-hand man in his grasp. He has you in his grasp, Mr. Mitsotakis. And the question is, why?’ he noted. He said that if the prime minister has no answers to offer, the dignified choice would be to resign and call for elections.

«The country needs a government based on integrity, democracy, and progress»

The president of SYRIZA noted that The country needs a government based on «honesty, democracy, and progress» and that «no matter how hard some people try, they won’t be able to escape this major dilemma—the dilemma of the elections.».

Because, he emphasized, «only through elections and a progressive government led by SYRIZA will the downward spiral be halted, normalcy be restored, restore a sense of security, and jump-start the economy by writing off or drastically reducing pandemic-related debts from the very beginning.» Only in this way, he said, will rising costs be addressed by freezing Public Power Corporation (PPC) bills and reducing the excise tax on electricity and the VAT on food. Only in this way, he continued, will the labor market be freed up by: abolishing, starting in the first week, the entire legal arsenal against the eight-hour workday, paid overtime, and the right to strike; the minimum wage will be immediately raised to 800 euros, and this increase will be applied across all pay scales. Only in this way, he emphasized, will the National Health System be immediately strengthened through the hiring of thousands of permanent healthcare workers, a substantial increase in staff salaries, and the conversion of all temporary positions to permanent ones; the Recovery Fund’s resources will be distributed fairly to small and medium-sized businesses «and only through elections and a progressive government will widespread corruption be replaced by justice.».

Concluding his speech, he called on all progressive political and social forces, and every democratic citizen, to join «this struggle to free ourselves from the Mitsotakis regime.’.