Equality in political marriage and disagreements, the agricultural and educational fronts dominate the interview of Makis Voridis in “Proto Thema”, with the Minister of State thoroughly analyzing the “why” of the prime minister’s political hegemony.

In detail, repeating his decision to abstain from the vote in the Parliament, for equality in civil marriage, M. Voridis states that this issue is “the only one in the 4.5 years of our government that divided our Parliamentary Group – and not only ours”.

But, he adds, “the prime minister handled the matter exceptionally well. Because he recognized the different sensitivities and the different approaches”, noting at the same time, “it is not at all self-evident that a legislative initiative comes and the prime minister comes out and says to his people, ‘vote according to your conscience and I think that abstention is a decent stance for ‘those who disagree’. Well, it also gives a direction for those who disagree.”

And, the Minister of State continues: “Obviously my stay in the government or not is something that the prime minister decides. And apparently the prime minister said that it’s quite common in the UK, for example, to have these kinds of disputes even within government.”

However, as he later clarifies, “the MPs vote according to their conscience, only that part of their conscientious decision and constitution is also not to injure their party. And this is part of the weighting.”

To the question of whether… he is flirting with the idea of ​​leaving New Democracy and becoming head of a party to the right of the ruling party, he answers in the negative. And, after repeating his position that, today, “a political Center does not exist!, it does not exist”, he unfolds his argument:

“Mitsotakis, who is a realist politician, very capable and successful in this, opens up and approaches and convinces this electorate, but with an agenda that covers all the sensitivities of the Right”, that is: “Immigration. Economic policy: reduction of taxation, confidence in entrepreneurship, attraction of investments, significant improvement in public relations with the private sector. Arms, frigates, Rafale, F-35, effective and proud foreign policy. Law – order: strict Criminal Code and now its further tightening. Private universities. In other words, he has the entire agenda of the Right”.

And, in conclusion, “there is no platform of a serious sense responsible and composed Right outside of New Democracy. Why isn’t there? Because Mitsotakis has covered it all […] And this is what creates the conditions for the hegemony of the New Democracy”.

Regarding the agricultural issue, the Minister of State points out first of all that “after too many years we have a surplus agricultural balance […] Greece does not just produce, it exports. And it exports more than it imports.”

And, in “therefore”, “we want to have a dialogue, but there is one condition: open roads. I think that the relationship that has been built between the ND and the agricultural class is a close relationship and a relationship of trust. And we listen to them and they listen to us. And we monitor their requests and try to satisfy them.”

But, he hastens to clarify, “let them know that we also have fiscal constraints, right? Let them know that we have a Budget that we stick to – this is not money that we take out of our heads or from our pockets or, as the Prime Minister nicely said, there are no money trees – we also have limitations.”

Asked, specifically, about the road closures, he replies that “they shouldn’t do that. “I never tell any group what to do, but to close the road, that is, to block traffic, is a serious thing, it’s very bad practice, it’s something that weakens their argument, it doesn’t strengthen it.”

And for non-state universities, finally, “what are we trying to protect? The families, the ones who want, the ones who will choose, to go to a university in their neighborhood instead of having to go and pay rent in Holland, plane tickets in Cyprus and food in Great Britain. This is what we do in families, we do nothing else. We don’t protect anything else.”

After all, he adds, “children with degrees from private universities, the foreigners, come here and work normally, with full professional rights”. And “this is an anachronism of the Left, an ideological anchoring without content”, he argues and, closing, wonders: “Is the public high school being degraded, because there are private schools?”