Today, the Press Representative of PASOK-Movement for Change, Kostas Tsoukalas. Responding to her constant attacks New Republic to PASOK-Movement of Change, he commented that “the Government, instead of dealing with the real problems, spends too much time slandering and spreading false news at the expense of PASOK. We tell him to look at the political reality and social issues.”

It was clarified by Mr. Tsoukalas that “we will be helpful from the role of the opposition, we will judge, we will evaluate, we will propose and we will also consent if something is positive. We don’t choose the intensity. We choose sober political criticism.”

On the question of VAT reduction, he reminded again that it was a pre-election commitment of the New Democracy “that it will put it into practice in the second half of the first four years, a period that has already passed and this did not happen. And he was saying this at a time when we did not have an inflationary crisis. Now we have a surplus, as 1.9 billion we only have an overrun of the budget in the first eight months of 2024”. The Press Representative of PASOK – Movement for Change emphasized that “we are saying that the VAT on basic goods should be reduced tomorrow morning in order to have a breather and then we will see with studies how we can proceed with a total rationalization of the VAT on the other goods as well, obviously measuring the result each time. When 55% of citizens struggle to make ends meet, if you reduce the VAT, they will not save money, but buy extra products. So again we will have the same, maybe even more, income.”

“The Government says it is reducing 12 taxes in 2025 and predicts in the budget it submitted that tax revenues will be increased by 2.5 billion. We want the market to move. When the market moves, people consume, obviously there is income. The VAT is the main lever that the Government uses to make a bonus policy. Bonus policy is not a solution. It’s a last resort. The solution is to have clear terms in the market and to ease the weak. When we have a ratio of direct to indirect taxes of 1 to 1.8 while in the rest of Europe it is 1 to 1, the indirect taxes are mostly scraped by poor households. We must stop the phenomenon of more and more joining the weakest. While we have GDP growth, we have substandard growth, we see an increase in those who are struggling. So inequalities widen. This is what we want to stop” the PASOK – Change Movement Spokesperson clearly said.

Regarding today’s amendment brought by the PASOK-Movement of Change for the classification of the nursing staff and ambulance crews of the EKAV to the heavy and unhealthy categories, Mr. Tsoukalas emphasized that “it is in the context of what Mr. Georgiadis since the Government is talking about consents. We insist that the previous amendment was absolutely correct, but we choose to go step by step. Said Mr. Georgiadis that he agrees that nursing staff, EMS, trauma carriers in the health sectors should enter the intensive care unit. This is what Mr. Georgiadis very few days ago that he considers it reasonable and reasonable. So, since he considers it reasonable and we want to be a creative force, we bring it for a vote with the amendment. The first amendment was the conclusion of the Behrakis committee that was appointed during his ministry and said that all health facilities should be included. Last year he said exactly the same thing to POEDIN. Today he has changed his mind. So we say let’s go step by step since you want consents. Let’s go with what you yourself suggested. I think that Mr. Georgiadis is obliged to accept them. I consider it absurd that he should not accept what he himself proposed. It is unthinkable, it will be a recital of hypocrisy. We want to be productive, creative, fruitful as an opposition and obviously if the Government wants consents, they cannot be a la carte. A 67-year-old paramedic can’t be going on a stretcher or a rescuer can’t be 67 years old rescuing someone at the risk of him needing rescue.”

While, Mr. Tsoukalas continued by adding another field to the discussion: “There is a single social security body, EFKA. The State comes under EFKA. It is not possible for a nurse who works in the private sector to be on the weight table and one who does the same job in the public sector not have weight. We will submit a series of other proposals in the coming days for both the labor bill and the tax bill in the context of what we have said. We want to be a responsible opposition, with a positive agenda.”

In the wake of the new poll of Pulse, Kostas Tsoukalas underlined the steady upward trajectory of the party’s percentages, stressing, however, that “we do not consider it to be an automated process and that citizens, tired of a product, will directly choose PASOK. We will do hard work both parliamentary and party and we will communicate our positions. We have not chosen an easy path, but we are going very specifically and with a costed program.” After repeating the proposals of PASOK-Movement for Change to restore the EKAS, abolish the personal dispute and reduce the solidarity contribution of pensioners by 15%, which are estimated at 1 billion. euros, stated that “no one can accuse us of not believing in fiscal order, because we are not the faction that financially derailed the country and led to the economic crisis, nor did we baptize the deficits at 8% in 2009 when they were at 15%, nor did we get 177 billion. euro public debt and we took it to 300 billion. in five years. It was the New Republic during the period of Mr. Karamanlis. We have passed tests on responsibility”.

Regarding whether PASOK-Movement of Change has its doors open to MPs who left SYRIZA, Mr. Tsoukalas underlined that “our strategy is the two-sided political expansion from the left to the liberal center, in order to cover the space that belongs genetically to the democratic faction. We will hold our political conference which we want to be a meeting point. We do not enter into bargains and transferology. Any citizen who wants to, regardless of their position, can participate in the processes, as long as they share the same principles and values ​​with PASOK and consider that our political plan is what the country needs. But not with commitments for seats and chairs. We also appeal to citizens who supported the New Democracy but today agree that the country is not in the right direction”. Kostas Tsoukalas also referred to the Government’s foreign policy, considering that “it must explain its strategy to us, because the narrative of calm waters is not confirmed by what Turkey says and it was not confirmed by the meeting of Mr. Gerapetritis with Mr. Fidan”.

He made it clear that “we do not play with national issues, in contrast to the New Democracy which when it was in opposition very often chose the vulgar exploitation of national issues” pointing out, however, that “we consider yesterday’s response weak. The Turkish minister cannot talk about recognition as their own space and the Government does not respond.” As for the President of the Republic, Mr. Tsoukalas reiterated the principle position of PASOK-Movement of Change “to follow an acquis and a tradition inaugurated by Andreas Papandreou, when the center-right rules, there should be a PtD from the center-left and vice versa. We have set specific features on which we can agree, but we are not looking to disagree. We consider it a consensual process. If, however, the ND makes a narrowly partisan choice simply to solve its own intra-party impasses, we will not allow them to become institutional impasses.”

Regarding the upcoming meeting between Nikos Androulakis and Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Press Representative of PASOK-Movement for Change emphasized that “the President will go with a specific agenda that will concern everyday life, accuracy, institutions, the rule of law and of course the national issues”. Finally, when asked if he would bring up the issue of wiretapping, he clarified that “there is no feud between Nikos Androulakis and the Prime Minister. Mr. Androulakis is proceeding institutionally with all legal actions, as he did the day before yesterday with the lawsuit. At the meeting, he will talk to the Prime Minister of the country about the major issues.”