“Greece was and will be a strong Republic. And SYRIZA will be strong here to strengthen the Democracy. Greece will not become Orban’s Hungary, no matter how much Mr. Mitsotakis wants to make it look like him,” stressed Alexis Tsipras, speaking to Chania. He emphasized that two alternative government plans clash in the polls, SYRIZA and ND“as opposed as day and night”, noting that “none of Mr. Mitsotakis’ promises have been submitted to Brussels” and that ND’s plan has hidden aspects.

The president of SYRIZA-PS argued that in the last few days three things stood out: “First, that they are ruthless even on sensitive national issues. Secondly, that they want to be a regime and intimidate, like Mrs. Bakoyannis. Thirdly, when we are told that we are a “national exception” and should not ask questions about human life, that the next day they want to rule unchecked.”

Addressing every democratic and progressive citizen, he noted that overturning the correlation of the May ballot is not a matter of SYRIZA’s percentages, but of how strong society will be, how healthy democracy and how stable our political system will be the next day . Referring to ND, he argued that “their plan is to reduce SYRIZA so that the next day they don’t have someone who can look them in the eye and express the hopes and anxieties of society. Their plan is the fragmentation of the political system.” He added that “the plan of convenient bipartisanship did not work out for them, but they have a plan to put 3-4 more parties in the Parliament”to emphasize that “objectively, with the enhanced proportionality, every progressive vote that does not go to the SYRIZA ballot box, strengthens the ND’s plan to be uncontrollable the next day”.

Note that “we will be here fighting alongside the people in need, alongside society, for rights, for democracy. Let’s fight this battle until Sunday decisively with optimism. Let’s be together, let’s move forward together from Monday. To keep alive the flame of justice, of hope in Greek society”.

“ND’s plan is to build a regime”

Mr. Tsipras said that “ND’s plan is not to form a government, but to build a regime”, asserting that this was shown by behavior these days: “We were shown by Mrs. Bakoyannis, who went to the Muslim minority and threatened them, that if there is even one “pink speck on the map” – so they said – then they will have a very difficult time in the future four years. And this threat, this intimidation was not only about the Muslim minority, it was about every social group, every citizen who has in his mind to resist the whims of an uncontrollable regime party and family power, like the one they want to impose from the 26th onwards” .

Referring to the withdrawal of ND candidates, Mr. Tsipras commented that “in this election we have written 3-0 so far”: “Spiritual, Cricket, Katrantzi. Tseveral ND candidates, who are listed on the ballots, have subsequently withdrawn. Mr. Pneumatikos, because he told the truth about their plan in Health. Mr. Kriketos, because he said how they think about human life. He said they had to let them drown the immigrants and refugees because they would come and steal from us. And Mr. Katrantzis, who highlighted how ruthless and irresponsible Mr. Mitsotakis is in our national issues.”

Mr. Tsipras accused Mr. Mitsotakis of setting a trap for him by using the EYP, “who for 4 years had her to listen to his political opponents, his ministers, and even the leadership of the Armed Forces, and he sent me a paper to allegedly accuse our own parliamentary candidates, while his is recorded there as ” enlisted” in Ankara and with statements a few days before the elections for “Turks of Western Thrace”. “They fell into the trap they set themselves,” he noted.

“Two alternative government plans collide”

He emphasized that in the June 25 polls, “two alternative government plans clash from the two ruling parties in our country” and that the central dividing line is that “SYRIZA puts forward human life as an irreplaceable, unchangeable value, while they, profits and losses”.

He commented that these two designs are “as opposed as day and night”.that “ND’s plan has hidden aspects.” He said that the ND program is one, the one he presented two months ago as a medium-term plan in Brussels and: “it does not foresee increases in the average salary of 25%, but 1.4 over a four-year period, it does not foresee 10,000 recruitments in the National Social Security, but 10,000 replacements of those who will leave the NHS, does not foresee an increase in spending on health and education, but a decrease”. “So they say different things and plan to do different things. None of Mr. Mitsotakis’ promises have been filed in Brussels. So there are no such promises”, he said, emphasizing that “there are some hidden thoughts, commitments, plans”. In this context he spoke of triage of patients by referring to Mr. Pneumatikosfurther reduction of health expenditure, privatization of hospitals, reduction of medical and nursing staff. He also spoke about a hidden agenda in the economy: “As far as small and medium entrepreneurship and the economy is concerned, it is the Pissarides plan. They plan and do not say it, in order to deal with the accuracy, when the passes and allowances will end, but the VAT and the VAT will not be reduced. The same and worse plans for the auctions of 700,000 properties, which have passed from the banks to the funds that took them last year. And they want to get 100% of the value.”

“There is an alternative path”

“Against all of this, there is an alternative path,” he emphasized, “it goes through her strengthening of the NHS with doctors and nurses, the regulation of debts for small and medium-sized businesses – as we did in 2018, the regulatory framework for the activity of funds, so that they stop uncontrollably evicting people who owe 5 and 10 thousand euros, when those who they vote for these, they owe 400 million to the banks in loans and unpaid. The reduction of indirect taxation, VAT and social security tax, the increase of wages, in order to give society a breather”.

“If we step back society will bend”

The president of SYRIZA said that “we will fight under any condition” and underlined that his commitment to fight this difficult battle is strong, because “we are fighters, we know from difficult battles. We never put it down. Until the ballot box, but also the next day.” He said that as he was coming, a citizen stopped him and said: “You are a hero, because you have the most cruel establishment ever against you. Concrete”. “I am not a hero, I answered him. Heroes are those who try to get by on a poverty stipend. Those who do not have medical care. Those who lose their lives in a farmer’s cart. These are heroes,” he said. He added that “we are here to fight under any condition, for the rights of the social majority”.

He emphasized that SYRIZA is not a firecracker and how it is here to represent those who have no voice, the weak, the social majority “and we will not back down”. “Not because we want to defend our seats and our percentages”, he commented, but “because these interests are being defended, because if we back down society will bend” and “the next day we will have a disorderly and uncontrollable regime”. In this context he invited everyone to fight together, “vote by vote, house by house, to reverse this unfavorable correlation recorded in the previous elections”.

“Let’s fight for Chania as well”

“Let’s fight for Chania as well. Because it is a crucial region for us”, emphasized Mr. Tsipras. “We are,” he said, “united as never before to fight this battle in Chania and Crete. Crete will very soon again become the leading force of the progressive faction of the place. To fight the battle to hold, and then to make the great counter-offensive to make the progressive faction, the government of the land, victorious again, that is our aim. We are a ruling faction and we will not stop fighting to become the progressive faction, the government of the land, to give hope and perspective to every Greek woman and every Greek man”.