The fact that Europe must show the same solidarity that it rightly shows in Ukraine and Cyprus, he emphasized speaking 28th Annual Economist Government Round Table Stefanos Kasselakis.

As he said “we stand by Ukraine against the Russian invasion”.

“Don’t forget that we invaded a European country not only in Ukraine, but also in Cyprus, 50 years ago.
And Europe must show towards Cyprus the same solidarity that it rightly shows towards Ukraine”, he added, adding that “at the same time, we must recognize the state of Palestine now”.

“What are we waiting for?”, he asked.

“Proud that SYRIZA-PS maintained second place in the European elections,” said party president Stefanos Kasselakis speaking at the 28th Annual Economist Government Roundtable.

Answering a question about the result of the European elections, he said: “Apart from the Far Right, I don’t think anyone can claim to have won, all the systemic parties were hit. Given the conditions that SYRIZA had to face in the last nine months, I’m proud that we came second with a strong presence and a reduction in the distance from the ND. The government today is not out of control and does not have the arrogance of the ND. The 28% of the ND did not arise in a vacuum. The prime minister admitted that they had a reduction of their rate, due to the cost of living. SYRIZA raised the issue of accuracy. After the elections, the government implemented one of our proposals for the taxation of refineries. The same was done by SYRIZA for environmental issues made a great campaign for health”.

At this point he emphasized that “for us universal health is a right. If you are born a Greek citizen you must have free health services. But this requires doctors and nursing staff to be paid. The income they have today is unacceptable, they cannot cover the needs their”.

Generalizing, Mr. Kasselakis asserted that “20% of the country’s population is doing well, improving its livelihood and is optimistic. But 80%, according to my experience, is either stagnant or in a state of panic”. He then asked the question “why the country that has been in the European Union since 1981, has seen so many countries overtake it and be in the worst positions in a number of indicators?”, to note that “the answer is political leadership. There is a real need. Older generations should let my generation fix things.”

When asked what he achieved in the nine months he has been president of SYRIZA, he answered: “I have learned that the most important thing for a leader is to listen to people, by listening you learn and you have a compass for what you need to achieve. You have to be true. I tried to talk to people, to overcome stereotypes, to unite the party. Unfortunately, not everyone has the same feelings and not everyone works in good faith. From there, I’m not stupid.”

He made it clear, however, that “I won’t have to get anyone’s permission to do what’s right for ordinary people. We’ll be independent. We want to be specific, we want an economy where markets operate with regulation, there will be social goods and a government that can intervene as in housing and health”.

On foreign policy, he said: “I have stated that we are in favor of NATO as a defense alliance.” He said that “I support Ukraine”, but clarified that “we do not want the country to be dragged into adventures, it is not right to provide arms to Ukraine when we have our own challenges to deal with”.

Regarding the reconstruction of the Center-Left and the convergence of parties, he said: “Parties are not businesses to have mergers and acquisitions. PASOK has a long history, since 1980 with Andreas Papandreou who brought upheavals, but it is also one of the two parties that caused my generation to leave the country and left us with debt. On the issue of same-sex couples, 35% abstained, so which PASOK are we talking about? We can work together on policy proposals, such as on health housing. Is PASOK progressive? I can say that SYRIZA is a progressive party.”

On the topic of convergences, he said that “I am personally open, but things must be done from the bottom up. I don’t care about prestige or power, if PASOK wants to coordinate its actions with us, I am here to discuss”.

He then clarified: “The base of the party, thousands of members and voters, want a strong SYRIZA and not to melt into some amalgam or compromise. A strong SYRIZA can be the head of a Progressive Alliance. Independent, strong SYRIZA, without compromise. Prime Minister said that there will be elections in 2027, I believe him, so we have time to shape the proposals to improve citizens’ lives”.

When asked which issue he considers to be the most important, he replied that “the first proposal of law that SYRIZA will formulate will concern taxation” and explained: “It is important to have a progressive system, to abolish the advance payment of tax. It should also be a stable tax system for ten years system. The country has a very high level of indirect taxes, it is a way of making the weak poorer.”

When asked how he comments on developments in the US ahead of the election, he replied that “I love Joe Biden, he achieved a balance in economic policy. But it will not be easy for him to be re-elected from what we saw in the debate. Age is an issue. It should not be Is there an upper limit to becoming president? It would make it easier if the Democrats went with a president who can cover the concerns.”

He also noted that “I do not regret returning to Greece. I am honored to be the head of the official opposition. I try every day to become more Greek in relation to what the country expects from me. I have to digest the issues. On the other hand, I detest defeatism in the country, the view that this is the way things are and they can’t change. I’m proud that we got the youth vote again. I respect conservative people, I want to build bridges.”

Regarding the European elections, he said: “It is a sad moment to see the Far Right sweeping Europe. But it did not surprise us, we had similar percentages five years ago. This time the motivation for citizens’ votes was not so much social issues, but the purely economic ones. There is a bureaucracy in Brussels, also citizens see it as a center for lobbying. This was also supported by the Far Right. The EU was the most successful political example in history in solidarity. Now there is a crisis at the level of political leadership. In my trips to Brussels, they told me that 70% of the MEPs were more concerned with their retirement than with European policies. The Left, the progressive forces, must inspire the citizens convince them that there is a different model that is not based on the privatization of everything.They need policies for the transfer of resources from the North as well as for climate change. I criticized the Greek government for not investigating the shipwreck in Pylos. And this is Europe’s role, to hold governments accountable.”

APE-SKAIGR