“Foreign policy issues and national issues, in order to know the essential details well, you must have dealt professionally. Especially Mr. Kasselakis has dealt with these issues abroad, he has written articles in foreign publications. However, his Greek is such that he might not have found the right word”, he said to and the show “Dekatianoi” with them Yiannis Pittaras and George Grigoriadis the SYRIZA Member of State and supporter of Stefanos Kasselakis in the party’s internal party elections, Evangelos Apostolakis, speaking of “the intensity of the moment of the interview”, and emphasized that “it is not an indication of how much he knows or not about national issues”.

Referring to military service, Mr. Apostolakis stated: “The issue of service, for Greece, is very important. The Armed Forces rely heavily on tenure. The Greek army is largely already professional. What Mr. Kasselakis wanted to say is how it will become more effective, both for the conscripts and for the country. A lot of improvements can be made in this matter. We need to see how conscription will be made more effective for both the conscripts and the country, it’s something we have to do.”

“The issue of tenure is very important and we must see how this will be done in the best way, to benefit both the country and the conscripts themselves so that it is not a waste of time. We do not agree to abolish tenure“, he added.

Asked if Stefanos Kasselakis has joined the army, Mr. Apostolakis emphasized that “he was abroad and followed the procedure provided by the law”. He added that “what he will do from now on is another matter”.

To the remark that if he stays in the country for six months he will be called to join the army, Mr. Apostolakis replied: “I don’t know. If that’s the case, he should behave accordingly.”

Referring to visit to Makronisos, Mr. Apostolakis argued that “Makronissos is the symbol of a part of the Greek people and no one has the right to share this history with anyone. When someone goes, considers this place sacred, respects it, uses it as a point of reference to invoke the national unity that is needed at this time, I do not understand what is the insult to history, who and why is offended. We are entering the limits of the absurd.”

“I consider that the issue has ended, the symbolism of the visit was clear. It was a visit by Mr. Kasselakis, based on a symbolic space, a story that we must avoid in the future”, he added.

Regarding the next day in SYRIZA and the split scenarios, Mr. Apostolakis emphasized: “There is no reason for such confrontations to exist. Both candidates belong to the same party, they are in an area, which is ideologically identical. There is no reason to look for the differences and contrasts. The next day the goal is to all work together, the unity of the party is very important, no one is left out in this space. Candidate positions are complementary. The confrontation, which may be reinforced by other factors, by people who are on one side or the other, create an issue. There is no need to talk about splits and divisions. The goal is for SYRIZA to acquire the identity it needs, for society to see that its hope is alive and that SYRIZA will stand as a party of responsibility. On Monday we will sit down and find out.”

“Kasselakis got people interested in something that was quite underrated. This man sparked interest in the elections in SYRIZA and showed that there is hope. SYRIZA did not get to this point by accident. It is time to meet the next day and not have raised walls”, concluded Mr. Apostolakis.