SYRIZA: The ‘fair’ Katrougalos law against Tsipras and the exorbitant contributions to the Middle Class

By Niki Zorba

SYRIZA is still paying the Katrougalos law that brought the self-employed to their knees with the exorbitant insurance contributions, that is for sure.

This is also an issue that was raised in recent meeting (premiere) of the Political Secretariat of the party, where according to information, the issue was touched by an executive (and not just one) to Alexis Tsipras himself in the context of the debate that took place within the Institution on how the official opposition is preparing for the autumn (as it so estimates) ballots.

There was, based on the same information from a SYRIZA MP present, admission by Alexis Tsipras himself that in his contacts with Citizens on his tours, he expresses dissatisfaction with the “misunderstood” (according to the president of SYRIZA) Katrougalos law.

Yesterday, Mr. Tsipras in a discussion (in the form of an interview) In the context of the ygeiamou conference, he referred to the insurance reform of SYRIZA under the ministry of George Katrougalos, which he first said was inevitable due to the unsustainability of the insurance system, speaking of a law “distinguished by the fair sharing of burdens and benefits, which proceeded to , like one insurance fund for all “.

The … crashes and the Middle Class

Looking at the Middle Class (the one in which he is trying to cast nets from the day after the 2019 elections), the president of SYRIZA hastened to admit that this law had “exorbitant insurance contributions to freelancers, the middle class” but which were due to the pressure of the troika.

“But the pressure we had from the troika forced us to have accidents.”

He did not expand on the … accidents, but he shouted that he tried to correct them immediately afterwards.

The defense of this law by the president of SYRIZA, however, obviously contains a great risk for the subsequent course of his party, given the reactions and the damage it has caused to (any) relationship with the citizens of the middle class (the one that essentially elects governments).

The defense of the law by Mr. Tsipras was probably an accident (in the literal sense of the word: a sacrifice of lesser interest to save a greater one). This is because he emphatically wanted to show that despite its perversions, the law made the insurance system viable for decades to come:

“Let no one try to load their perceptions of insurance into sustainability. Today, as we talk about the coming decades, the insurance system is sustainable,” he said.

That is, according to the president of SYRIZA, the insurance system is now sustainable and there is no need to change it. Whoever wants to change it, should not refer to the issue of sustainability but to his political views.