Al Tsipras: The dilemma of the elections will be ‘stability or Mitsotakis’, because he will have identified with the chaos

LAST UPDATE: 21.36

“Society is sinking into a vortex that mathematically leads to a social crisis. Fortunately, we have not seen social tension so far, but if this widening of inequalities continues for many months, this looting of the majority, we will face great impasses.” Alexis Tsipras stressed in an interview with the main news bulletin of the Ionian TV station.

The president of SYRIZA-PS underlined that “we ask for elections because we find that if we do not change, we will sink. I either change or sink I think today has its literal significance”. He commented on the Prime Minister’s statements yesterday, noting that “Mr. Mitsotakis is self-trapped” and that “as time goes by, not only his dynamics, but also his arguments wear out, so he is forced to change it at the end of the day. “Stability or chaos’ dilemma will be a dilemma that has become ‘stability or Mitsotakis’, because he will have identified with chaos.” He commented that “at the first hearing of the news that the elections will take place in the ‘Spring of ’23, as Mr. Mitsotakis says – if one can believe it – the answer is’ help’, how do we get out by then if not change policies “, emphasizing that this is why SYRIZA is calling for elections. He stated that Mr. Mitsotakis, yesterday, “under the pressure of social criticism, turned the dilemma ‘autonomy or chaos’ into ‘okay, autonomy is not an end in itself'” and called on him to answer with whom he is thinking of collaborating “so that we have the stability, as he says “. “I imagine that he would not cooperate with SYRIZA, nor we with ND, because our ideological and political differences are huge,” he stressed. “So with whom? Would he work with Mr. Androulakis, who has stated that he wants a social-democratic government? So I do not think that Mr. Androulakis – unless he wanted to commit political suicide – would go to work with Mr. Mitsotakis in “a government that is anything but in the direction of social democracy,” he noted.

Mr. Tsipras stressed that “we have been saying very clearly for three years and more, since we introduced the simple analogy, that the country can be governed by co-operative governments but on the basis of programmatic convergence, political programs” and noted that “the different “These are the directions of this neo-liberal right expressed by Mr. Mitsotakis and, on the other hand, of the progressive forces.” “That is why we clearly say that there can be stability in the country after the simple proportional elections, which we have established, with a government of cooperation on a programmatic basis of progressive convergence,” he said. A government, he added, “which will take care to raise the minimum wage, which will cap energy surpluses and reduce costs to consumers and businesses, which will take care to support small and medium-sized enterprises and the welfare state.”

After that, Mr. Mitsotakis asked the question with whom he will cooperate on the basis of the program that he is implementing as a government today – because I imagine he has no regrets for what he does otherwise he would change them “. With whom? With Mr. Velopoulos? If he is his design let him say it “. At the same time, he stressed that all political forces must take a position on the crucial question of how the country will emerge from this crisis, with what program. And what collaborations. “We are very clear about that,” he said. There must be a substantial effort to stop this mechanism that produces profiteering. ”

Earlier, when asked about the issue of accuracy, Al. Tsipras spoke of “terrible pressure” on households and businesses, while again warning that we have not yet seen the consequences of the war. He also raised the issue of “scandal” regarding energy providers and especially PPC, which, as he said, reaches 1.4 billion. and called on the prime minister and government spokesman to “disclose” the details. He also described as “mocking” the government’s promise to tax these profits, “after a holiday”, following a call from the European Commission. “Even this I hear as a joke. First of all the non-recognition of the existence of profiteering, then the recognition, of course, but the non-identification of it, then the vague promise of taxation,” he said, stressing the need “to have a a substantial effort to stop this mechanism that produces profiteering “.

Regarding the subsidies, he reiterated the criticism of the official opposition that the government takes money from the taxpayers and actually subsidizes PPC and other providers, while he completely stifled the government’s strategy in this issue, comparing that SYRIZA-PS will follow model, with more regulatory interventions even with a “ceiling”.

“We have a quiver of potential that the government is not taking advantage of, not because they did not think about it. It is not a matter of incompetence. It is a matter of political choice and ideological approach. That is why it is the worst government at the worst time,” he said. Tsipras explained that “this crisis requires state intervention” but that this government “does not believe in the state”, only in the “self-regulation” of the markets, while he also spoke about possible “commitments” towards “private interests”. Asked to comment on the prime minister’s promise to raise the minimum wage, he said “it should have been done two years ago” and spoke again of an “equation that cannot be solved”. “The rapid decline in income, with wages steady and demands rising, is in fact leading to a reduction in active demand, to a collapse of the economy itself,” he said, calling the “persistence in non-wage” “anti-social behavior” “, as, as he said, for the” profits of a few “,” the economy is groaning “.

He also criticized the prime minister for “refusing” to reduce the Excise Tax and VAT on basic items for a long time, and that now that he is discussing the latter it is “positive” but it is “too little, too late”. “It’s not a matter of fear of fiscal derailment. The government’s reluctance to take action is a matter of priorities,” he said, citing the example of “abolishing the 13th pension” saving $ 1 billion, which led to the “privatization of supplementary insurance”. that is, in “funds”. “The 6.6 billion was also a political choice, according to the independent authority for direct contracts and closed tenders,” he added.

Continuing, the opposition leader warned that the likelihood of a food crisis due to the war in Ukraine was “high” and reiterated his proposal to link agricultural subsidies to a “crop redesign” for wheat and maize. The goal, he said, will be to anticipate a possible “adequacy crisis” or to reduce “costs”.

“The lack of reflexes, the lack of planning, the lack of intervention is obvious,” he said, adding that in general, “the country has a very serious issue of a productive model that does not concern the crisis.” “All this has to do with the climate crisis, with the green transition. The green transition is costly. The issue is how we will share these costs,” he said, stressing that the cost should be avoided “to the many” so that “few, big profits”. “The costs and the benefits must be shared,” he said.

Mr. Mitsotakis owes a huge apology to Patras – Pyrgos Asked about the Patras – Pyrgos road axis, Mr. Tsipras said that the SYRIZA government “unblocked the project that Mr. Chrysochoidis had auctioned without community funds, so it would never happen, and we set specifications as set by the European Commission and proceeded to the auction at a much lower cost, 240 instead of 480 million, and we broke into 8 contracts because this process also gave us an average discount of 30% “. However, he said, “while 7 of the 8 contracts had started, ND comes and cancels the contracts and the auction that had already taken place, expels the contractors from almost 7 of the 8 that had started their work, compensates them and over 8 million each and is 32 months late “. “Should we apologize for this or does Mr. Mitsotakis owe a huge apology to the citizens of Ilia mainly?” He added that Mr. Mitsotakis “justified himself by saying that these things happened because SYRIZA wanted to give to its own contractors and always brought the example of Kalogritsa. But in ’19 we declared Kalogritsa’s expelled”, he said, adding that a crime and for another deception of the people of Achaia and Ilia.

Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ