Al. Tsipras: The message from the SYRIZA-PS conference scared the government

The president of SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance, Alexis Tsipras, gave a wide-ranging interview on the morning of Great (April 20) on the television station ’OPEN,« on the program »Ora Ellados« with Akis Pavlopoulos and Evlampia Revi.

«Mitsotakis Is to Blame for the Rise in Electricity Prices – We Will Cut Down the Illegally Planted Trees»

The president of SYRIZA-PS launched a fierce attack on the government regarding issues of inflation and exorbitant electricity bills. «The government has made a mess of things, especially when it comes to price hikes. How is it possible that we’ve had the highest price per megawatt-hour in Europe for months now? (…) The price, through the adjustment clause, is passed on to the consumer as is. Is this the free market? The main question is: why is Greece the most expensive country? The answer is: Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The government is supposedly letting the market regulate itself within a framework of profiteering,« noted Mr. Tsipras.

Alexis Tsipras emphasized that in order to lower electricity prices, «it doesn’t require any fiscal cost. We’ll do it the way Spain and Portugal did. We WILL tax excess profits. We won’t have money trees; we’ll cut down the thieving trees. We’ll set a cap on wholesale prices.» At this point, the president of SYRIZA announced plans to decouple the electricity exchange from prices.

Responding to accusations that the SYRIZA government enacted the electricity exchange, he noted: «The energy exchange is a European directive. Any government would have enacted it. Its implementation began under the New Democracy government. There is a legal framework across the entire EU, but it is being applied in a distorted manner in Greece. In the context of an energy crisis, this framework creates problems. (…) I don’t know of any other market where suppliers have zero risk.».

«Why isn’t the prime minister making any decisions? All I know is that this is devastating for households and businesses. (…) What has the Prime Minister been waiting for these past 8 months to make decisions? A month ago, I spoke in Parliament and analyzed the excess profits. Mr. Mitsotakis used to say that there were no excess profits; in Parliament, he admitted that they do exist, and they’re still trying to figure out how much excess profit the energy companies are making,» he noted.

Alexis Tsipras pointed out that the SYRIZA-PS's proposal to raise the minimum wage is viable. «In 2013, the Samaras government cut the minimum wage by 25% with a single law and a single article. When we exited the memoranda, we raised the minimum wage by 11% and the sub-minimum wage by 24%. And we committed to raising the minimum wage again. Mr. Mitsotakis was also forced to commit to raising the minimum wage. And last year, with 9% growth, Mr. Mitsotakis raised the minimum wage by just 2%.».

The president of SYRIZA spoke about the need to write off part of the debt incurred during the pandemic by small and medium-sized business owners and farmers.

He noted that the announcements he made during the SYRIZA conference are realistic and costed, while he once again launched an attack on the government for the way it manages public finances. «These measures are necessary to keep society afloat. They cost far less than what the Mitsotakis government spent. Where did the 40 billion euros go? 7 billion euros went to direct awards and closed tenders.».

«The government's collapse is absolutely evident»

The president of SYRIZA-PS stated that «the issue of the government’s collapse is absolutely clear. (…) When your utility bills and your wallet speak for themselves, the discontent is great.».

«The issue for us, however, —since I have experience, being older—is not whether I’ll take a more conciliatory or confrontational tone, because I believe the course of events has already been decided. I think it won’t be difficult for SYRIZA to come in first. The difficult part will be rebuilding the country the day after. If Kyriakos Mitsotakis serves out his full four-year term, he’ll exhaust the possibility of achieving a respectable result in the elections, but he’ll also exhaust our own ammunition. If he continues his policy of apathy and inaction toward what is happening for another year, we will face a humanitarian crisis. »And it is unfair that we should once again have to face a humanitarian crisis; measures must be taken,” said Mr. Tsipras.

Responding to a question about whether the fierce confrontation would create a toxic atmosphere in the country, Mr. Tsipras emphasized: «In the 1980s, the atmosphere was much more toxic in the country. This is not something out of the ordinary for the country. On national issues, I believe there is a more measured exchange of ideas and views, with the exception of Mr. Mitsotakis’s stance on resolving the Macedonian issue. He created an atmosphere with a nationalist-populist approach that harmed the country.».

Alexis Tsipras pointed out that our country has no reason to send military equipment to Ukraine. «Greece is a unique country within NATO because it has the ability to engage in dialogue with different countries,» he continued. He assessed that sending military equipment to Ukraine was the wrong choice and «they realized this, which is why they did not send any more equipment.».

«It would be good if N. Androulakis would tell us what he wants and what he doesn't want.»

The president of SYRIZA-PS took a jab at the president of KINAL over his stance toward the official opposition party. He emphasized that Nikos Androulakis is operating in a «gray area» and is not putting forward any policy proposals.

«I don’t know what Mr. Androulakis sees and what he doesn’t see. But it would be good if he told us what he wants and what he doesn’t want. It would be good if he spoke in concrete terms about his platform, because he’s operating in a gray area—he’s been at the helm of KINAL for four months now. If we were trying to stifle political forces, we wouldn’t have voted for simple proportional representation. Because we believe in coalition governments. »Mr. Androulakis needs to tell us what his position is on these issues,” he noted pointedly.

In addition, the leader of the official opposition emphasized that «the people elect their prime ministers (…). Mr. Androulakis would do well to talk about policies. Let Mr. Androulakis tell us who he wants as prime minister! My message is directed not only at KINAL but also at other political forces. Those who do not lay their cards on the table ahead of the elections will have to deal with the consequences themselves. Anyone who operates in a gray area will face the consequences themselves. When you’re opposing the government, you can’t avoid making it clear that you want to hold elections. PASOK’s poll numbers dropped because it formed a coalition government with New Democracy, not because it formed a coalition government with SYRIZA. And at that time, Mr. Androulakis was PASOK’s secretary.».

«The unity of SYRIZA-PS is indisputable»

Finally, commenting on the incident that took place on the last day of the SYRIZA-PS Congress, he noted: «The image of such a massive convention—a convention that passed unanimous resolutions—is the image of a party that has regrouped. The convention’s message is resounding; it is a message that we know what we’re doing and we can do it. We held an open, massive, “non-prefabricated” conference, and the dialogue was passionate. Such tensions are not uncommon on the left, and the unity of SYRIZA-PS is indisputable.».