G. Gerapetritis: There are many more reasons not to hold early elections

The government’s plan for the completion of its term was invoked by the Minister of State George Gerapetritis, in response to the rumors about ballots before the end of the four-year term. There are, after all, many more reasons not to hold early elections, he said – and “I think this is what the Greek people want.” In the same interview, through the radio frequency of “Parapolitikon”, G. Gerapetritis launched an attack against the president of SYRIZA – Progressive Alliance, accusing him of cultivating a deeply divisive and intolerant climate, as he said.

Starting from the request of the leader of the official opposition for the announcement of election time, the appointment of an acting Minister of Interior, etc., the Minister of State replied: “This is a highly anti-institutional statement, which ignores the foundations of the regime. In Greece we have a It’s really curious, without having said anything about the elections, that Mr Tsipras is now calling for a caretaker interior minister at a time when which is not the easiest for the country, risking anything that could happen “.

In fact, the Minister of State went one step further by saying: “When we talk about a smooth transition to elections, as Mr. Tsipras said, the allusion is deeply divisive and refers to other times. The smooth conduct of elections in post-colonial Greece is a “There is no risk to the elections.” And, in his next sentence, Tsipras’s proposal “cultivates a climate of division and poisons public opinion.”

He went on to say that “the government continues to work towards serving the public interest, it is the prerogative of the prime minister when elections take place.” “After all,” the Constitution does not provide for the institution of caretaker ministers before the elections. According to the constitutional treaty, what is in force is that in recent years, two ministers, the press minister and the interior minister, are replaced when elections are called and Parliament is dissolved. “.

Also, G. Gerapetritis stated that he does not question the democratic normalcy, “our regime has the absolute maturity to be able to cope. The right people will be selected, for this reason it is good not to create a toxic political atmosphere”.

About “stupid advisors”

Asked to comment on the phrase of Alexis Tsipras, at the General Assembly of SETE, “if some people advise Mr. Mitsotakis that he can win the elections with certainty, I think he has very stupid advisers”, the minister replied as follows: “It is not something that honors the political system. Statements can be made from all political sides, not the same political weight in expressions from the leader of the official opposition, which is a key institution in the state. When we hear phrases about “stupid advisers” “A deeply divisive and intolerant climate is being created in society. And let us not ask ourselves later why the political scene is being poisoned, why at the end of the day the citizens avoid engaging in politics and do not trust the political system.”

In the above, the Minister of State supplemented the statement of the former Minister of Finance, Euclid Tsakalotos, that the perceptual capacity of the New Democracy executives is reduced. Then, the comment about the personality of Mr. Tsakalotos – “I honor him very much, he is a noble and cultured man” – commented on the statement itself: “unfortunately in Greece because there is this type of political arena, we have slipped into a lot hostile and degrading reason “. In conclusion, “we must maintain a gentle level – and this applies to everyone.”

In the debate on early recourse to the polls, “according to the Constitution, one is the one who decides, the prime minister, as long as there is a reason of national interest”, he noted and added: “we continue our work. The government has not been assigned a “There is no such thing as a campaign, I assure you.”

He continued: “there are reasons to go to the polls, for example to have a clear term ahead of us. There are many more not to hold elections. Because today we have a very stable government, which has the confidence of Parliament and the Greek people

We continue our work with the prospect of completing our term. Planning, legislative and political, is about completing our term. “If anything arises, it will be evaluated, but today we are still moving on the basis of completing the term – and I think that is what the Greek people want.”

At the same time, he claimed that Alexis Tsipras is in an “extremely difficult position” and referred to the polls, over time, that had taken place three years after the elections. “The government has the least damage than any other,” he concluded.

For simple analogy in particular, he noted that “at a time when the country is facing multiple crises, government stability is in demand. A government has to react very quickly with reflexes today, it does not have the luxury of lengthy consultations.”

Characterizing another impossibility in a parliamentary state to set as a condition of cooperation, the leader of the first party not to be prime minister (Androulakis proposal), insisted: “If we want to enter a culture of political consensus and alliances, we must all realize that “Whoever wins the election has the political right to lead the government. This is happening all over Europe.”

“After all,” he added, “the current government is” the most representative we have had during the post-colonial period in terms of executives. within the New Democracy “.

In addition, “when the prime minister is going to serve the basic rule of integrity and meritocracy, he is not going to make any political calculations. He chooses those who, in his opinion, are the most worthy to serve the public interest, no matter where they come from. “They have a historical path. This is something that must be credited to him.”

K. Velopoulos is very far from the SW

To the question whether he considers the Greek Solution a neighboring party, he gave the following answer: “based on the actions of the Greek Solution in Parliament, it is very far from the basic positions of the New Democracy government”.

And, in the dilemma, “Velopoulos or Tsipras” (as a government partner), G. Gerapetritis answered: “You make me choose between Scylla and Charybdis. We will go to the logic of programmatic convergences”.

However, he did not leave untouched the involvement of the name of the leader of MERA25: “Because Mr. Varoufakis is dynamically returning to the forefront as a pole of possible cooperation with SYRIZA, those who have created major problems in the country, those who closed the banks, those “who risked the course of the country, those who charged us with a third, completely unnecessary memorandum, those who endangered the fiscal course of the country, will not be in the frame the next day.”

K. Mitsotakis will answer to R.T. Erdogan

Concluding with the Greek-Turkish, “Turkish provocation is put on all fora”, he pointed out and referred to the draft conclusions of the European Council, as well as the report of the European Parliament. “If an issue is raised by the Turkish President at the NATO Summit, he will certainly respond,” he said. “We are going to leave nothing unanswered. The prime minister will have a proportionate response to what the Turkish president says.”

To the final question, finally, if the government is afraid of a hot episode in the summer, G. Gerapetritis answered: “we are not afraid, but we are always vigilant. I assure you that we will do everything in our power to have a quiet summer. “We are concerned, but we are always on the alert.”