His bill Ministry of Labourwith simultaneous criticism of the trade union movement and the opposition parties (even those on the right of the political spectrum), were the focus of an interview by the Minister of State Makis Voridis on the “Blue Sky” television station.

“How many went on strike? How many were in the marches? Was it 5,000?’ The Minister of State began his interview with these questions, pointing out at the same time that the workers in the private sector, whom he is concerned with, did not strike. Employees in the public sector went on strike, even though it does not concern them. “We are talking about a strike…of solidarity, when those primarily interested did not strike”, said M. Voridis, also referring to “revolutionary gymnastics” and “discrediting the trade union movement”. A movement, he continued, which is “deeply nocturnal” and not at all grounded in society, he added. And which does not help to have a fruitful dialogue. “We hear cries, as if the destruction of the world has come,” he added, adding that “the world has understood where the obsessions of the Left have led us.”

But, as he pointed out at this point, due to the policies of the New Democracy there is historically low unemployment, and in some professions there is a lack of workers, and the increased demand for work leads to an increase in wages. The minister’s report closed by referring to party-motivated strikes.

At another point in the interview, he made special mention of the parliamentary debate on the Ministry of Labor bill. After noting that the government does not have a front with the opposition, he asked the citizens to see “the criticism of the “right parties” in relation to the labor bill. They ended up being more leftist than leftists. They’re running a contest to see who can adopt the harshest, nihilist, populist critique of a bill that’s favorable to workers.” In conclusion, however, “the important thing, for us, is the problems of the citizens. This is what we face, this is what we think about, this is our daily agony”.

“Product of the strategic defeat of the Left, Mr. Kasselakis”

On the other topic of current affairs, the internal party elections for the nomination of president in SYRIZA – Progressive Alliance, M. Voridis underlined that “the Left was defeated, it has been continuously defeated in the last decade in Greece”. Something that has to do with the way that “Kyriakos Mitsotakis has built the modern, European, Greek Center Right”, he emphasized. And, the strategic defeat is reflected in the internal party field of SYRIZA, he argued, explaining that “defeat drags down all those who have identified with this strategy. And these are Mrs. Ahtsioglou, and Mr. Tsakalotos and Mr. Pappas, all those who played a leading role in the very recent past and to whom some of the SYRIZA voters blame this strategic defeat. In his desperation, this part of the Left goes and clings to Mr. Kasselakis, who, however, is a question mark,” he observed. The appearance of Mr. Kasselakis and his posts on social media are not enough, the Minister of State insisted and continued: “Mr. Kasselakis is a product of strategic defeat.”

According to the analysis of Mr. Voridis, the defeat of the Left is not political, but a defeat with strategic, ideological characteristics. And this means – he added – that the Left must reflect on a series of issues, such as “immigration and open borders, overtaxation, crime, support for convicted terrorists under the guise of rights, positions on national issues”. It is typical, he added, that the Left lost its foothold even in the most popular neighborhoods.

A fact that, as he argued, is related to the fact that “the policy of Kyriakos Mitsotakis is realistic, obviously with an ideological sign and characteristics. But at the same time, it is a policy that wants to solve the issues, it deals with things in a way that is “easily understood by the average, sensible person”. At the end of the interview, the Minister of State clarified, however, that if there is “something interesting from the opposition”, the ministers incorporate it.