Opening to citizens of all political shades, regardless of what they had voted for, he did Alexis Tsipras from Preveza, while he left sharp points towards the leaderships of the other parties of the left saying that “our enemy and our opponent is the right wing of Mr. Mitsotakis”.

Mr. Tsipras repeated the challenge to Kyriakos Mitsotakis for a personal televised confrontation. In particular, he said: “Shortly before I arrived in Preveza, Popi Tsapanidou informed me that the Mega TV station invited us to go to a debate to inform the Greek people about the positions of the two parties that claim the first place.” He opened a dialogue with those gathered by asking: “What do you say I go?” to collect the answer by shouting “yes”. He continued by asking: “Do you think Mr. Mitsotakis will come?”, only to receive the answer “no”. He then personally addressed the prime minister: “Whoever is afraid and has no arguments cannot claim the vote of the Greek people. Mr. Mitsotakis, the time of crisis is coming. I invite you to come to a personal discussion face to face. Why do you refuse, what have you to fear, you are not the ones who gallop to victory? You will not be glorified in hiding. No one in this place was glorified in secret. The truth is that Mr. Mitsotakis is afraid not only of me but also of every television interview with journalists who do not ask him the questions, he does not go, he is afraid. Let him be, let him do what he thinks, I will wait for him there and let him not come. But he will certainly come to the appointment on May 21st and there the parrots don’t vote, the pollsters don’t vote, the Greek citizens vote and there we will see the answer of the Greek people”.

Mr. Tsipras referred to the nature of the elections and posed his final dilemma: “The May 21st elections are the first with simple proportionality, but we are voting for who will govern. It is certain that the party that comes first will be able to form a government. Don’t listen to what they tell you. There are no repeat elections. Mr. Mitsotakis, through Mr. Skertsou, revealed his intentions, if he is even half a unit ahead, he will take advantage of the possibility to form a government, either by blackmail, or by pressure, or by defections, they are well aware of these, they have the know how. He will attempt to form a rag-tag government from the first Sunday. There are no double elections. That is why we appeal to every democratic and progressive citizen. The vote is matched with the parliamentary seats, but it also has weight. Mr. Mitsotakis’ plan to form a rag-tag government and stay another four years can only be overturned with the victory of SYRIZA in the May 21 elections. That is why we call on the progressive, democratic citizens to realize that only the victory of SYRIZA can pave the way for change and the formation of a progressive government on the day after the elections.”

He then invited the citizens to reflect: “who do we want to celebrate on May 21, the powerful, the cartels, the vested interests or all the citizens?” On May 21st we decide whether to change or continue to sink. If the same situation continues, households will not be able to make ends meet or we will change.” He also posed the final dilemma: “Mitsotakis or change?” SYRIZA-PS or Mitsotakis?”.

In the slogan “Alexis, let the right go” Mr. Tsipras replied “this slogan to leave the worst government of the Right since the post-colonialism, is the feeling of the great majority of people, regardless of what they voted for. And we are not only addressing the leftists, we are addressing all Greeks, centrists, rightists and leftists, and we are saying to them, what you feel is no longer the case with the terrifying widening of inequalities, with this daily suffering, that they cannot even go to supermarkets, who can’t pay their electricity bills, who can’t fill the tank, this suffering must stop. The salary cannot be paid before or on the third week of the month. So far with the obscene profit, to be precise with the nepotism. The accuracy may be imported but the profiteering is not imported, it has the seal of Mr. Mitsotakis and his government. Because it is not possible for our country to be the country with the most expensive price of energy and gasoline in Europe and to have one of the lowest salaries in Europe together with Bulgaria. This recipe did not succeed, because at the same time we see about 15 companies with twenty-year records. At a time when the vast majority of households cannot make ends meet. Mr. Mitsotakis kept indirect taxes high to fill the public coffers in order to give some benefits. It made the middle class live on coupons. Everything is a pass, but you’re not going anywhere with the Mitsotakis government.”

To the slogan of those gathered “The people do not forget what the right means”, Mr. Tsipras replied: “I want to dedicate this slogan to the friends of the other left forces in the country, to tell them that if there is a legacy from the struggles and the conquests of our people for change and democracy is to remember that our enemy is not the other progressive forces, our enemy is one: the right of Mr. Mitsotakis, he is our enemy and our opponent . If some forgot what right means, the Mitsotakis government reminded us of this in recent years. It raised the public debt to 406 billion euros and increased the private debt by 50 billion. These are the successes of the Mitsotakis government. It has other successes, it distributed 10 billion euros to companies in direct assignments and closed tenders. Corruption everywhere, an endless corruption, in a framework of autocratic democracy, with half the political system under surveillance and the country in 107th place in freedom of the press. So we address all citizens and tell them that these elections are crucial for their lives and everyday life. We are not only asking for a political change but to bring change in their lives.”

He also referred to the contract with society that he presented the previous days: “We submitted an 11-article contract yesterday and we call for us and the democratic Greek people to sign it together on May 21. And it will be the basis on which we will call the day after the elections, the progressive forces to form a government of progressive cooperation. Because the country must be governed with stability and with a long-term government. The articles of our contract underline this fourfold: wage increase, price reduction, debt regulation, fair and efficient state next to the citizen. We call on the progressive forces to position themselves on this program and tell us what they disagree with.”

He responded to the government’s complaints about the cost of the program: “Mr. Mitsotakis is trying to discredit it and while it costs 5.5 billion, it sometimes appears to cost 24, sometimes 74 and sometimes 80 billion euros. We answer him, even if it is so you gave 50 billion to the poor in one year and you are afraid because we will give 80 billion to the society in four years? We answer him that our plan costs half of what you have given to mothers in recent years.”

He then said that SYRIZA is asking for the opportunity to govern for the first time with its own program and without the supervision of the troika. “We were the only government that governed honestly without leaving debt. I want to commit that the 11 articles will be implemented because now we know and we can. Imagine if we had the ability to spend 50 billion instead of collecting 40 billion.”

He accused the government of redistributing income at the expense of the social majority: “The big redistribution of income was done through the high VAT and the subsidies that end up in the companies. What they have planned is a major redistribution of wealth. A year ago, Mr. Mitsotakis presented a program that would solve the country’s housing problem. The “our house” program. According to a report by ‘NEON’, how many applied? 20,000 people and 1,300 applications were approved. Why so few? Because he says there are no houses. And where are they thinking of finding homes? From the auctions. This is their plan. Our plan for housing and auctions doesn’t cost money, it’s a political decision to protect the first home, farm land and business housing.”

He referred to other elements of his program saying: “Our commitment is to support public health and public education, to reconstitute the public health system and give incentives to doctors to stay in the country”. He also referred to the need to form a public pillar in the banking system, explaining: “The first 622 million euros in loans from the Development Fund have gone to 13 ultra-wealthy businesses that can borrow but now have lower interest rates. At the same time, 96% of businesses cannot even go outside the banks. That’s why we call it a public pillar in the banking system.”