Olga Gerovaasili pointed out the need for SYRIZA to “return to politics and move away from the politics of gossip”, noting that “of course the role of individuals is very important”.
At the same time, Ms Gerovasili expressed her certainty that S. Kasselakis will not be re-elected.
“Let me tell you because I know the area very well and because you also mentioned in the polls that Stefanos Kasselakis will not be re-elected. Keep it in mind so we can discuss it later, maybe after the elections,” the SYRIZA MP stressed.
“It’s a political battle. I have nothing personal with Mr. Kasselakis. I never have. On the contrary,” Olga Gerovasili emphasized, speaking to RealFM radio.
He added: “We have not been talking in political terms for a year. We have uncertainty in our space. We have conflicts. We have a vacuum of analysis and ideas and instead we have a clear strategy of establishing a party centered on the personal leader. No leftist fits into such a party. Because it opposes the basic principles of collectivity, a collectivity that also ensures the conditions of Democracy.”
Regarding the fact that the “87” did not present a candidate for the presidency of SYRIZA, Olga Gerovasili commented: “Here it is proven exactly that the aim of the people who recently positioned themselves by co-signing a text, the 87 at the beginning and then those who voted for a motion of no confidence, the aim was not how two people would compete, but to express real concerns about the current situation and also about the future of our area, SYRIZA-PS. It was not a question of readiness, but a common anxiety that united these people. It is not an intra-party tendency, but a common anxiety, expressed in the same way at certain moments, but not all of us want to say the same thing. So it is a question of how this was interpreted in 1987 and how some people thought I was the leader of 1987. All of this has already been refuted.”
“Market expression, not politics”
Referring to how the intra-party feud with Stefanos Kasselakis arose, the SYRIZA MP stressed that “the contrasts were sharp. In other words, we started from the ‘find an opponent and let’s go’ approach. In my opinion, that was a market expression, relatively market-oriented and not political. And of course the ‘those who don’t like it get up and leave’ in response to criticism, in an attempt to reach an agreement, etc. I want to tell you that the expressions capture the potential problem that existed. I would prefer that we discuss the problem in order to be more political and not stick to the expressions. Expressions were heard here. I can’t even reproduce the expressions that were heard.”
For Alexis Tsipras
Finally, regarding the possibility of Alexis Tsipras returning to the political scene at the head of a broad democratic faction, the SYRIZA MP commented that “the ghost of Alexis Tsipras hanging over the political system, I think, shows more fear, anxiety, etc. Yesterday, when Alexis Tsipras made a speech on the country’s major issues, we saw Mr. Marinakis, the ND representative, respond to Alexis Tsipras, which is unusual as you know for a former Prime Minister.
I therefore conclude that Alexis Tsipras’ fear is what determines ND’s policy. He also defined Stefanos Kasselakis’ policy as fear, but there is no fact.”