The aim of first place in the European elections was reiterated by the president of SYRIZA-PS, Stefanos Kasselakis, in his interview with Kontra Chanell, while he announced that his party will vote in favor of the defense expenditure of the budget.

On the problem of accuracy he said: “There is no doubt that the taxes are very high. VAT revenue has increased by 40%. Has the Greek’s income increased accordingly? So how does he pay 40% more taxes through VAT? These come out of whatever pillows everyone had. The Greek is getting poorer, that’s how we got the investment grade”.

Regarding the proposals of SYRIZA, he said: “The first thing that should be done is the reduction of indirect taxes. This overperformance does not constitute good management. The second is for the public to work. We are not in the fax age. There are tools for the public to work. It is not possible for the Greek to pay 6.5 billion in private costs for health, 40% of the total costs. Do we have education, do we have courts? Let the government invest in the public sector. All agencies, even those whose heads are appointed by the government, say that public agencies are understaffed. The public sector was destructured with the crisis and Mr. Mitsotakis came to privatize it. Privatization is not a policy for society. Why does ASEP not accept our proposal to manage recruitment? As prime minister I don’t want to decide the recruitments, I want the specialists to have the flow of recruitments. I mentioned our party’s proposal for recruitment from now on. ASEP works for our country, let’s invest in something that works. It is the client state that does not work with transparency and meritocracy”.

He also noted that the social welfare state and the services it offers is also linked to the minimum wage and added that we are a country with very low wages, in 24th place out of 27 in the EU. The increase in wages will return to the economy, he said. Asked about it, he said that “the minimum salary should be at least 900 euros net”.

He said SYRIZA would vote on defense spending in the budget for the first time in years. Regarding foreign policy, he said: “Imagine if we had a SYRIZA foreign minister bowing to the Turkish president. The government would have fallen. But the ND propaganda covers it up. Mr Gerapetritis is nice to me, but it is a matter of dignity, it is a shame for the country. The SYRIZA government is not going to bow down to anyone, Turkish or foreign leader, especially someone who has ambitions against our country.”

Regarding the possible negotiation with Turkey, he said that “we have red lines. What is being done on the islands where equipment that is removed is not replaced, constitutes a form of demilitarization, we do not agree. Under no circumstances should we proceed with co-exploitation of the EEZ before recourse to The Hague and under no circumstances should there be divestment of sovereign rights. These are our red lines, this does not mean that SYRIZA does not support the dialogue process and the positive agenda”. He also noted that “I have concerns that the dialogue is going to become Greek-Turkish and not Euro-Turkish.” Regarding the Cyprus issue, he said that it is a large part of Greek-Turkish relations “but it is not the only one. It is inextricably linked to the Greek-Turkish dialogue and we must stand by Cyprus without any asterisks”.

Regarding the Prespa Agreement, he said that “the decision of Alexis Tsipras and Nikos Kotzias was correct. The Prespa Agreement will leave history as an effort for peace. It was a difficult Agreement internally but it was something that had to be resolved. Imagine if we had issues with Turkey and if we also had a hostile country on our northern border.” He also accused Kyriakos Mitsotakis of “opportunism for forgetting what he said that he would not implement the Prespa Agreement and changed his position”.

When asked what his goal is for the European elections, he replied that “his goal is to beat Mitsotakis” and added that it is a social need to achieve this goal. “People, many people who did not vote for SYRIZA feel that there must be a change, they feel that the 41% has become an alibi. Mr. Georgiadis says that no one is interested in Tempi, Ms. Michailidou says that young students can walk two and a half kilometers to get to school, Ms. Kerameos said today that nurses get good experience from the public. I wonder, what are these people thinking? There is a callousness and an arrogance, they have forgotten what it is to serve someone down on your luck. It’s basic empathy. The people expect from us, they expect to see how our party will be organized, they expect to bring proposals that will solve their problems that will not hesitate to clash with interests and that there will be a renewal and a team that will be able to govern the country. Clear solutions. We are not talking about issues of robotics and artificial intelligence, which will also be included in our politics, but about issues of humanity and social cohesion.”

Regarding his communication with the world and whether it is the great “asset of SYRIZA”, he answered: “The great asset of SYRIZA is its independence. A cuckoo does not bring spring.” He made it clear that he will not enter the Parliament by taking the position of one of the three State deputies and specifically referred to Mr. Iliopoulos saying that “Mr. Iliopoulos represents the expatriates and works hard. The corresponding representative of the ND does not even come from the diaspora. The purpose of the law for the part of expatriate Hellenism is to have a representative from the diaspora”.

When asked why he does not set the threshold for the European elections at 17%, he answered: “No, the threshold is to win the European elections. If I don’t succeed, I will take it as a social defeat. The extreme right is galloping in the European Parliament. We have three such parties in parliament and the ND caresses ears. Mr. Mitsotakis does not bring up same-sex marriage in order not to offend the PEOPLE of his party. If you are a leader and have principles you are doing the right thing. It’s a matter of humanity. Yesterday I went to a Roma community and you see that these people have been left to their fate.

To a question about whether he will raise the issue of party discipline in his party for same-sex marriage, he answered: “Obviously they should vote. It’s an issue that’s fresh in society, I myself break many taboos.”

Regarding the objective of the European elections in relation to the current polls, he explained: “It is a matter of social necessity and not purely partisan ambition. Besides, we also see some things, we see that our organizations are flooded with new members. We have grown as a party. This means that there is interaction with society. This people will also work for the elections. It needs some time and patience. Obviously we are a party that went through a split but there is a positive climate in the organizations, our members feel free to express their opinions, (they feel) that they are participating in a movement that will change Greece. We have to follow the procedure. The first indications are very positive.”

Regarding possible future cooperation with Mr. Androulakis, he said that “it is not in the priorities and there is currently no basis for cooperation. Mr. Androulakis must first resolve the issues with Mr. Mitsotakis regarding his monitoring. I have suggested that he sue Mr. Mitsotakis. The world of the left will find its home in SYRIZA”.

Regarding Dimitris Koutsoubas who recently wondered “where did they find this pot” he said: “First of all I hope he has recovered and then I want to meet him. For what he said I would remind him of Mao’s words, let all the flowers bloom.’

Regarding his political strategy, he said: “Our applied policy is clearly pro-worker and pro-people, but there is no need to go to the elections dividing the Greeks. We want an economy that gives opportunities and supports the weakest, this and hate speech are another. We want social peace with justice. There are huge inequalities and that is why we want an interventionist state that will solve the issues of education health, we will have a public pillar in the stream. We have no interests to fear, neither in energy nor in service providers”.

Evaluating the defeat in the elections, he said: “What cost SYRIZA is the lack of credibility due to a plurality. Sticking to the values ​​of the left didn’t cost us, but it should be clear what the left wants to do the next day. Socialism must be the vision. E.g. in the tax field, what is done to the detriment of the self-employed is an injustice, the advance payment of income tax for businesses is a world first. It must be abolished and it will also be an injection for the economy. This is modern left-wing politics.”

Asked about the “courtiers of the servicemen” he mentioned in his speech to the Central Committee he said that “my own obligation is to look forward and not back. If you want, ask the members of parliament who did not vote against the provisions in favor of service workers”.

Regarding the issues that exist in the party media and the mandatory journalist license of the radio station “to Kokkino” after the reproduction of fake news against him, he replied: “To Kokkino is a party radio station that has its own management, you can direct the question in the administration. All I’ve done while I’m party chairman is I’ve worked hard for workers to get their Christmas present in tough economic conditions for the party media.” He made it clear that “our goal is for the party media to remain in operation”.

To a question about where he will spend Christmas, he answered: “On Christmas, we will be between Greece and the USA. In the US we will be in the South with our families, not in New York. I would like this time of year for our families to be in Greece. But we want the world to respect our need to be with our families too.” He closed the interview by saying “I want the world to have in its prayers the 31-year-old policeman who is fighting in the Hospital”.