“I would like an opposition to be inclusive. To be able to assume the political costs to deal with the asymmetries that the country has. She the opposition is housed in PASOK. With PASOK and me, as Costas Simitis said, because everyone joined our policy”, emphasized Evangelos Venizelos to applause in his closing speech which summarized the three-day e-kyklos conference.

“It needs to manage the timeless symbols inclusively,” he added, and added how he did well, Mr. Mitsotakis went to both events.

Mr. Venizelos emphasized that the country needs institutional counterweights, from a progressive party which will assume political costs and will not popularize as the government loses some of its electoral legitimacy. However, he observed that it is difficult to create the counterweight of the opposition with an independent political proposal and if it does not arise, cooperation must be sought within the constitutional framework.

He estimated on this matter that we are in an intermediate phase until the European elections and the PASOK-SYRIZA competition for who will be the second party and therefore the essential opposition is to be expected. “PASOK has the right to claim to become a second party with what he undertook to deal with the crisis. And SYRIZA will want to remain,” he pointed out.

Evangelos Venizelos commented as a luxury the debate on how much the self-employed tax-free allowance will be when tough tax measures have been announced and imposed during the crisis. “If you can’t bear political costs, you’re a populist” he said, while calling it a rearguard battle not to change Article 16 for private universities. “But what is needed is not just a change but a comprehensive proposal that will liberate public universities and set the rules for non-state ones.”

Regarding Greek-Turkish, Mr. Venizelos mentioned that it was right that Mr. Mitsotakis and Mr. Erdogan spoke by phone about the crisis in the Middle East. He agreed with Deputy Foreign Minister Alexandra Papadopoulou that the events do not affect Greece-Turkey relations. “The survey by Metron-Analysis shows that society wants another policy with Turkey and it is an optimistic sign, but we do not yet have the political conditions to formulate a new policy with Turkey. We have to understand that things cannot be allowed to run for a long time because they suffocate you. The Israeli-Palestinian crisis shows this,” he stressed.

Mr. Venizelos spoke about the Israel-Hamas war conflict and the global balance and security problems it highlights for a worldwide liquidation phenomenon. He added that today we do not have an international peacekeeping body, as the UN has been weakened by a member of the Security Council, Russia, with the war in Ukraine. “The crisis in the Middle East highlights the need to reconstitute an international security system. The role of the West depends on internal cohesion in the US and the role of India. Where India leans will play a decisive role in global developments. Europe knows very well that its defense security relies on the USA, through NATO, and I hope that Europe will support the USA, if necessary in the transitional stage, which I fear may arise in the next elections”.

He thanked all those who participated and spoke at the three-day e-kyklos conference, US Ambassador George Tsuni for his speech and those who attended.