In his address to the Political Secretariat, SYRIZA-PS President Alexis Tsipras referred, among other things, to the possibility of early elections, speaking of «accumulated dead ends» created by the government.
«Faced with the mounting deadlocks he has created, Mr. Mitsotakis has apparently decided to escape the situation by calling for elections,» he said, according to party sources.
«His decision is welcome. After all, this isn’t the first time this has happened with a right-wing government. However, it is the first time that the excuse is not being sought in some national issue, but rather in the political climate and, in particular, in the opposition,» he commented.
In this context, he called on the prime minister to «get serious,» emphasizing that «the country is facing a dual crisis—social and geopolitical—and must manage them with a sense of national responsibility, as long as he remains in office.».
In fact, he called on him—«if he truly desires a climate of political civility and consensus, especially on major national issues»—in the run-up to the elections: «to announce the election date sometime in September right now,» «to appoint an acting Minister of the Interior right now so that the country can proceed smoothly toward the elections,» «to convene the National Council on Foreign Policy in a continuous session so that all political forces are fully informed of developments regarding our national issues throughout the pre-election period,’ and »to immediately establish the relevant cross-party committee and enforce democratic rules ensuring equal media coverage of the parties in the run-up to the elections.«.
«The country has been driven into a double impasse. On the one hand, conditions of social crisis are taking shape, with a terrifying rise in inflation and shrinking incomes. On the other hand, for the first time, there is such great uncertainty and tension in our relationship with Turkey,» continued Alexis Tsipras, accusing the Mitsotakis government of «failed to adequately address the health crisis and is now proving incapable of addressing the energy crisis and the cost-of-living crisis.» «Mitsotakis’s cost-of-living crisis—a crisis with a clear class-based nature and orientation— serves the few and the powerful, while targeting working people, the most vulnerable, and the middle class. Through its actions and by turning a blind eye to profiteering, it has multiplied the impact of the energy crisis,» he emphasized, noting that «energy inflation in Greece stands at 60%, while across Europe it is 39%.».
«Inflation in Greece is the highest in Western Europe. The price of gasoline in Greece is the 7th highest in the world. At the same time, energy companies» excess profits exceed 1.5 billion euros, which the Mitsotakis government is trying to reduce through accounting tricks to avoid taxing them. «High prices not only make the poor even poorer but also severely affect the self-employed, small and medium-sized businesses, and the middle class,» he added, criticizing the prime minister for «instead of a substantial wage increase in line with inflation, and drastic measures like those taken by other countries to lower fuel and electricity prices, is offering utterly inadequate subsidies, which are wiped out by constant price hikes before they even reach citizens» pockets, all it manages to do is subsidize profiteering in energy and fuel, which is reaching record highs across Europe.” “The one who accused SYRIZA of handing out benefits during the difficult years of its administration is now trying to reverse his own collapse with inadequate benefits. He is not interested in supporting citizens against the tsunami of rising prices, but only in deceiving them with benefits that will expire on the date of the early elections he is planning,” he said pointedly.
Finally, regarding domestic issues, he commented: «Mr. Mitsotakis is putting the country in a precarious position with the ad hoc foreign policy he is pursuing. He is changing the country’s foreign policy doctrine, transforming it from a pillar of stability and security in the troubled region of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans into a forward outpost of the West, by secretly sending heavy weaponry to Ukraine—without the slightest notification to the political parties or the Greek people—which drags the country into the war, making it part of the crisis, while at the same time depriving the islands of weapons.».
«Mr. Mitsotakis, during his meeting with Erdoğan in Istanbul three months ago, promised a peaceful summer. Less than two weeks later, tensions began to escalate again on the part of Turkey,» he noted.
