With the approval of the Political Decision and the speech of the president of the parliamentary group, Alexis Haritsithe three-day work of its Founding Conference concludes at noon New Left.

Meanwhile, the representatives’ speeches continue since the morning, with searches for the next day, elements of self-criticism as well as criticism of SYRIZA-PS. If everyone agrees on something, it is that the world of the Left is not represented today by SYRIZA, and also that the mistakes of the past should be avoided and that the New Left emerges from the European elections with its head held high.

Nikos Voutsis: “Self-criticism and self-confidence are necessary”

Nikos Voutsis presented three topics for discussion while speaking at the Founding Conference of the New Left, after he declared “happy, optimistic and concerned that we are here, because some of us have never been silent, regardless of whether we lost or were defeated”. Mr. Voutsis said: “The first is the issue of self-criticism: We should be open to such a discussion and not avoid it, because we had differences in the past, or because others are to blame, who were the bad guys. Secondly, we never discussed, because we did not understand what is happening in Greek society after the pandemic. Third, there are issues of social grounding. We have a responsibility to a degree, for the detachment and distance from the social struggles”.

Continuing, he said: “We need to have a discussion, why and how our central political proposal before the election, of progressive convergence in conditions of simple proportionality, did not convince. There is a question of how much we will be a new body and not fragments of the old. One view of this is to go to parthenogenesis. The other is to be seen as ‘the good SYRIZA’. It is neither one nor the other – we will have to shape our own character. We must be an open party, in the sense that you don’t have intolerance, you have tolerance, we are open. We are children of the unifying restructuring in the last 40 years”. He noted that it is necessary for the party to gain self-confidence and to express it in the political field, with discussions, collaborations and convergences.

Dimitris Papadimoulis: “To take root and gain perspective”

MEP Dimitris Papadimoulis described the three-day New Left Founding Conference as a breath of regrouping, hope and perspective and added: “Not only for us, but for many thousands of people who are out there and expect us to do the same. Those of us who decided to leave SYRIZA, and it was not easy, we feel absolutely justified, as what is happening and will continue in SYRIZA, distances it, not only from any sense of the Left, but also from seriousness and credibility. The challenge for the New Left is to justify, as a party that is being formed, the hopes of those who create a strong social opposition and cause cracks in the neoliberal and deeply corrupt Mitsotakis government”.

He criticized in the past saying: “Kasselakis is a symptom, not the cause. In order to build seriousness, credibility, stigma, we must show greater courage and self-criticism in the mistakes we tolerated, fearing anti-SYRIZA criticism. He noted that SYRIZA, with a policy contrary to what it had promised, went from 35% to 32%. But then, as an opposition, he ordered everything from everyone and in the name of a vague and spineless expansion, he discredited the party’s history, its people and ended up with Antonaros”.

In closing, he said that the New Left in the near future, with its allies, with its program and ideas, must achieve a result that will give a strong upward trajectory with perspective. We need to take root and gain perspective.

Euclid Tsakalotos: To be open to movements and young people

Euclid Tsakalotos connected self-criticism with his proposals for tomorrow in his presentation. Speaking in personal tones, he pointed out two elements of self-criticism that must be avoided in the new venture. Said Mr. Tsakalotos: “The one element of self-criticism is that after 2019 and while I saw the terrible attacks on comrades like Voutsis, Skourletis, Fili, etc., I did not do enough to protect the comrades. Why; Maybe why I had accepted leadership and government? No. It wasn’t that. And I wrote, and we talked, but we didn’t do enough, and not only did I not undermine, but I was censored. They told us that it would not be good for us not to bring up issues of the party’s operation. We must go by consensus in the composition of the body and the texts we will approve, but after discussing them. The second element of self-criticism: theoretically I have written too much about movements. I ask: in the previous period, did we do enough for the movements? We criticized that enlargement is not done by taking persons from other places, but enlargement is doing ant work in movements. But have we done enough? From now on, we will have to build a party, which will face the movements with internal solidarity and after integrating them into our core”.

He then said that it is crucial what the party will do in the European elections – and added: “In the European elections we will go down as one European force. But not as a European power that forgets today’s Europe, that does nothing for Gaza, for the workers on the platforms, that returns the pact of stability and development. Our program must have certain peaks. We must make a ballot that shows that we are open to movements and to new people, that we are not only the continuation, but the new. Finally, we need to talk to the world and for the world and give space to young people and listen to them. The main role of a left-wing party is to build cadres. So let’s build leaders for the world and for the movements.”

Nasos Iliopoulos: “Let’s go out with our heads held high”

“What we achieved in the three days is a small feat,” said Nasos Iliopoulos in his statement and added: “We are in a crisis, the three days is a call and a reminder that the world of the Left does not deserve the discredit it has been experiencing lately. Let’s proceed with a process that will leave the European elections with our heads held high. To show that the New Left is not an ephemeral movement, but a force that has come to take root, so that we have the time to plan the next steps”.

He noted that “today there is no progressive majority. We should know that in politics, it is one thing to express and the other is to compose. Our job is to regroup the people of the Left. We should not fear that they may be a militant minority. We are in a losing season. Obviously there is huge potential, but we may have to cross a desert. In Greece there will be no New Workers – like in Thatcher’s England – there will be a left in Greece. We are talking about the reconstitution of the Left.

We need a break with the politics of enunciation. Politics is not judged by speaking well, politics is the formation of power relations. If we do not form blocs and relationships of power, we do not serve politics. Organizations are not TV commentary forums, they should be fighting units. Finally, the world of work is in the foreground. Being a trade unionist is not easy, in the past it was a punishment. To help people who are fighting. Our politics cannot accommodate self-righteousness. Our self-criticism must be seen in action. If there’s one thing I carry over from the past, it’s that when the stakes were high, we didn’t hide, we jumped into the fray. I want a left that will enter the battle and serve the world, because otherwise it has no reason to exist.”

Sia Anagnostopoulou: The Conference of the New Left is historic

MP Sia Anagnostopoulou described the Founding Conference of the New Left as historic and added: “What is the New Left? Child of the times and the need, the rage of pride and dignity, as manifested by our departure from SYRIZA”.

Criticizing the past, he said: “In the Left we have served, we have learned that you are not a leftist when you stretch your conscience to the extremes, when you fear and self-censor, when you believe in leaders and messiahs, when you tolerate bending the rules and sending a muddled message. The spells ‘listen to me say ‘Adonis and listen to me tell you Mitsotakis’ and ‘I will defeat Mitsotakis’ make politics apolitical and terren”.

Ms Anagnostopoulou referred to the universities bill, saying that “now is the battle of battles”. In closing, he said it must be clear that “we are never backing down from what the Left has learned to be.”