Greece wants to change and it can, declares in his interview with the “National Herald”, the president of SYRIZA-PS, Stefanos Kasselakis, who clarifies that his position is “always for a self-reliant modern Left”, noting that “he sees no danger of the split of SYRIZA”, while he argues that “the heirs belong to the conservation club, not the self-made”.

When asked about the result of the self-governing elections, he says: “For me, the biggest personal bet was Thessaly. The fact that the urban centers of Athens and Thessaloniki chose not to follow family rule and go in a progressive direction is another first political step to change the culture of politics in Greece. There is a dependence right now on the flow of money, which also appears through these passes, which are essentially like food stamps, America’s food stamps. And that is unacceptable. It’s our money, the taxpayers’ money. My own policy is that I want the people to have money in their pockets instead of depending on political leadership with “passes”.

Mr. Kasselakis underlines that Greece wants to change and adds: “This is what I received from the beginning and that is why I ran for office, which started from a platform of proposals, no matter how much my internal party opponents said that I have no political reason. You see our Greece having three hundred billion in debt, being close to Sudan in debt, after ten years of memoranda and so much aid from the European Union due to COVID and the support package and being again on the verge of a recession. Because if there’s a global recession we’re not on solid footing, we’re a big hotel right now. There is also no social welfare state. Hospitals are massively understaffed. Universities have facilities that have huge issues. There are not enough lifeguards. “So, where are we going as a country?”

Those who do not support unity are off the ballot

Mr. Kasselakis rejects the risk of SYRIZA splitting up, while to a question about how he intends to deal with those executives who publicly and openly question him, he answers: “SYRIZA expresses the modern Left under my own presidency, which based on the unanimous declaration of the party also covers the democratic center. So I fully respect the party’s declaration. Those who do not support the unity of SYRIZA will not be on the party’s electoral ballots. I am clear in what I say.”

Regarding his relationship with Pavlos Polakis, he replies: “I work well together. Pavlos is an honest man with great sensitivity to Justice issues. He has very good ideas about many issues and about health. He is an excellent doctor from the University and a very good surgeon. He is very practical in applying the law and finding solutions. With Pavlos, we agreed on the issue of entanglement, which is still a huge issue.”

4.5 years what did you do?

He criticizes Kyriakos Mitsotakis: “When Mr. Mitsotakis became prime minister I thought that having such a surname and being able to become the leader of the country would be a great opportunity to change the country. Instead, I see that the entanglement in Greece has not only not stopped, but has also become systemic, a combination of Regions and direct assignments, state and Europe packages, etc. For me it is a huge disappointment. It is not possible for Justice not to be the Greek’s last resort. He says (Mr. Mitsotakis) that I have a reform project in front of me, etc., the question is four and a half years, what did you do? Why are there immunities for MPs? Why is there a stalker for bankers? For the army, I don’t want the children to do nine months of guard duty without learning anything. I prefer them to clear forests and make flood zones, even if they are engineers to build bridges in the flooded region. And of course there should be defense preparation and training, and not only for men, but also for women. The roof thing is huge. Between rent and electricity the average Greek lives to work, he will never be able to have a family. The transparency of the anti-flood projects in Thessaly. Will whoever misused money be held accountable? Where is the prosecutorial investigation into the surveillance? Nothing is done when the Service (EFP) in Megaros Maximos was monitoring journalists, politicians, businessmen with the Greek taxpayer’s money.

The maintenance club belongs to the heirs

Regarding his path “from Goldman Sachs, to SYRIZA”, he answers: “Let me remind you that the former CEOs of Goldman Sachs and the big banks belong to the Democratic party in America and are obviously self-made people. Those who generally belong to the maintenance club are the inheritors, not the self-made. For me, this is a great chapter for the Left, which must be aligned with the concept of advance, of healthy entrepreneurship and not with terms of the previous century”.

Cooperation with PASOK

Regarding the possibility of cooperation with PASOK, he notes: “My position has always been for an independent modern Left. To the extent that there are political convergences, we are very happy to discuss them openly.”

When asked about the “disintegration” of SYRIZA in the parliamentary elections, he answers: “I think that SYRIZA could not at that moment offer a solution of stability. The comment of Mr. Katrougalos e.g. a few days before the election seems to have rekindled issues or feelings from the 2015-2019 SYRIZA rule that were difficult for the middle class.”

Greece should not be a given ally

The president of SYRIZA-PS also refers to the separation of State and Church saying: “Faith is different, the institution of the Church is different. I believe that there can be a way to make a transition to the autonomy of the Church from the State with full respect for the Church.”

Regarding Greek-American relations, he argues: “Greece belongs to the West and we are proud of it, but it should not be a given ally for the United States.” Don’t say yes to everything. To say yes for the interest of Greece and to be able to maximize our negotiating position in this relationship. We should definitely activate the Homogenia even more”. Regarding what Greece should do for Homogenia, he answers: “It must drastically reduce bureaucracy, from land registers, to investments and charitable donations. She must be able to contribute to the place with her ideas. On the subject of Culture. To create Seats and Regions in the Parliament so that there is a right to be elected and not only to be elected”.

To the question of whether the majority of the Greek people are ready to accept your form of marriage with a man, they answered: “Yes, they are.”

You don’t solve war crimes with other crimes

To a question about “distributed in Israel” he answers: “Difficult situation, a chronic problem in the Middle East. You don’t solve potential war crimes with other war crimes. I do not believe that Hamas represents the Palestinian people. Not to escalate further, to go back to the UN resolutions so that we can have some sustainable solution for two states, is the only way. I will talk about the rest through the party’s official positions.”