“Besides the far right, I think no one can argue that he wonall systemic parties have been dealt blows,” he emphasized president of SYRIZA-PS, Stefanos Kasselakis, speaking about the European elections at the 28th Annual Government Economist Roundtable.
At the same time, S. Kasselalis said he was proud of the fact that Mr. SIRIZA maintained second place in the European elections “given the conditions that SYRIZA has had to face in the last nine months”, while talking about reducing the gap with ND.
“28% of NDs didn’t come out of nowhere”
“The government today is not beyond control and criticism and does not have the arrogance of the 41%. The 28% ND did not come out of nowhere. The Prime Minister admitted yesterday in his conference that they had reduced the rates because of the cost of living. SYRIZA raised the issue of accuracy and put forward a proposal. After the elections, the government implemented one of our own proposals to tax refinery surpluses. SYRIZA did the same on environmental issues while campaigning strongly on health,” he noted.
At this point he emphasized that “for us, universal healthcare is a right. If you are born a Greek citizen, you should have free healthcare services. But this requires paid doctors and nursing staff. The income they have today is unacceptable, they cannot cover their needs.”
Generalizing, Mr. Kasselakis argued that “20% of the country’s population is wellimproves its livelihood and is optimistic. But 80%, in my experience, are stagnant or in a state of panic.” He then raised the question “why is it that the country that has been in the European Union since 1981 has seen so many countries overtake it and end up in the worst positions in a series of indicators?”, to note that “the answer is political leadership”. There is a real need. Older generations should let my generation fix things”.
What he gained from his 9 months of leadership
When asked what he achieved in the nine months he was president of SYRIZA, he replied: “I learned that the most important thing For a leader, it is about listening to people. By listening, you learn and have a compass for what you need to achieve. You have to be real. I tried to talk to people, overcome stereotypes, and unite the party. Unfortunately, not everyone has the same feelings and not everyone acts in good faith. Besides, I’m not stupid».
However, he made it clear that “I will not need anyone’s permission to do what is right for the common people. We will be independent. We want to be specific, we want an economy where markets operate with regulation, there will be social goods and a government that can intervene, such as in housing and health.”
“We are in favor of NATO as a defense alliance”
On foreign policy, he said: “I have stated that we are in favour of NATO as a defence alliance”. He said that “I support Ukraine”, but clarified that “we do not want the country to be dragged into adventures, it is not right to supply arms to Ukraine when we have our own challenges to face”.
“Is PASOK progressive?”
For reconstruction of the center-left and party convergences he said: “The parties are not companies that carry out mergers and acquisitions. PASOK has a long history, dating back to the 1980s with Andreas Papandreou who caused upheaval, but it is also one of the two parties that made my generation leave the country and left us in debt. On the issue of same-sex marriage, 35% abstained, so what kind of PASOK are we talking about? We can work together in parliament on political proposals such as health and housing. Is PASOK progressive? As for SYRIZA, I can say that it is a progressive party.”
On the topic of convergences, he said that “personally I am open, other things they must be done from the bottom up. I don’t care about prestige or power, if PASOK wants to coordinate its actions with us, I’m here to discuss it.”
He then clarified: “The base of the party, thousands of members and voters, want a strong SYRIZA and not to merge into some amalgam or have a compromise. A strong SYRIZA can lead a Progressive Alliance. SYRIZA is independent and strong, without compromises. The Prime Minister said there will be elections in 2027, I believe him, so that we have time to shape proposals to improve the lives of citizens.”
When asked what issue he considers most important, he replied that “the first bill that SYRIZA will formulate will concern taxation” and explained: “It is important to have a progressive system, to abolish advance tax. It will also be a fixed tax system for ten years. The country has a very high level of indirect taxes, it is a way of impoverishing the weakest.”
“I love Joe Biden”
When asked about his thoughts on the events in the US ahead of the elections, he replied that “I love Joe Biden, he has achieved a balance in economic policy. But it will not be easy to be reelected, given what we saw in the debate. Age is an issue. Shouldn’t there be an upper limit to becoming president? It would be easier if the Democrats chose a president who could address the concerns that exist.”
He also noted that “I do not regret returning to Greece. I am honored to be the leader of the official opposition. I try every day to become more Greek in relation to what the country expects of me. I need to digest the problems. On the other hand, I hate the defeatism in the country, the view that things are like this and cannot be changed. I am proud that we have won the youth vote again. I respect the conservatives, I want to build bridges.”
“A sad time for the far right to sweep across Europe”
For European elections He said: “It is a sad moment to see the far right sweeping across Europe. But this did not surprise us, we had similar percentages five years ago. This time the motivation for citizens’ votes was not so much social issues, but purely financial ones. There is a bureaucracy in Brussels, and citizens also see it as a lobbying centre, they do not feel they can participate in decisions. This was also supported by the far right. The EU was the most successful political paradigm in history, but it was based on solidarity. Now there is a crisis at the level of political leadership. In my trips to Brussels, I was told that 70% of MEPs were more concerned with its reform than with European policies. The left, the progressive forces, must inspire citizens, convince them that there is a different model that is not based on privatizing everything. Policies are needed for the transfer of resources from the North, as well as for climate change. I criticised the Greek government for not investigating the shipwreck in Pylos. And this is also Europe’s role, to hold governments to account.”