The balance of the election and the fear of electoral losses due to Polakis prodded the entire SYRIZA party and its Political Secretariat unanimously to embrace him once again.
Citizens be more interested in the cost of living than the machinations of a former minister or the wiretapping of the phone of a party leader, but affairs often follow their own rules.
Questions have also been raised about the prosecutor attached to EYP, Vasiliki Vlachou, as it is unclear under what criteria she could have ordered the surveillance of a Greek politician.
The announcement from the PM’s office said that the spy chief’s resignation was due to ‘wrong actions’ in the context of legal surveillance of Androulakis with a prosecutor’s order.
The death of renowned journalist and publisher Stavros Psycharis formally signals the end of an era, or at least of a circle of “press people” who changed Greek journalism and wielded political influence.
What was missing in SYRIZA's recent convention and the post-convention activity was a comprehensive, honest review of the party's record while in power.
The current major geopolitical and economic challenges have unfortunately once again brought populism to the fore in many Western societies.
SYRIZA is a large party and its leadership intends to restructure it, in order to increase its prospects of coming to power and in order to abandon foolishness, verbalism, and grandiose rhetoric.
Will Syriza continue with the same opposition tack as it has adopted so far, and if so what would be the purpose of a debate? What is the special circumstance that would vanish after a single debate?
As long as SYRIZA continues to appeal mainly to the emotions of the public, both PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis and centre-left KINAL leader Nikos Androulakis have an opportunity to gain ground among centrist voters.
It would be a welcome change as if those who bear responsibility for tragedies in which many people died when they were in power [SYRIZA], and for an ensuing cover-up operation, exhibited greater self-awareness and modesty.
The dysfunction and acrobatics of SYRIZA is due to the party’s being out of touch with the contemporary needs of Greek society. It often seems entrenched in skirmishes between closed groups and factions that are reminiscent of a bygone era.
SYRIZA’s spokesman reiterated proposals for a minimum wage hike, lowering the special consumption tax, and intervention in the pricing of the Public Power Corporation (PPC) in order to stem inflation.
'Mr. Tsipras is obliged to cite even one doctor who decided who would be admitted to an ICU based on a political order. otherwise he will prove that slander and vulgarity is the only kind of opposition he has left.'
Government spokesman Yannis Economou charged that SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras is trying to shift the political agenda, as he has decided that SYRIZA on 7 October will not vote to ratify the recent Greece-France strategic partnership agreement unless it is revised, which is out of the question.
As for Mr. Tsipras' commitment that he will form a “progressive government”, it comes across as provocative when coming from a person who for four years ruled with the [right-wing populist] Independent Greeks party as his junior coalition partner.
The debate that was triggered yesterday by the conviction of Golden Dawn as a criminal organisation once again highlights the grey zones in which Mr. Tsipras’ government operated.
Alexis Tsipras is attempting to organise an autarchic party with a hegemonic leader along the lines of Pasok’s model of governance in the 1980’s under Andreas Papandreou.
A courageous and bold party should not have needed [SYRIZA MP and ex-education minister] Nikos Filis to defend its history.
Certain groups and networks undoubtedly acted in an extra-institutional manner, set up cases and blackmail, manufactured guilty persons, and sought to place liens and to take people hostage – to neutralise people they wanted as potential competitors for power.
The programme presented by Mr. Tsipras yesterday at Zappeion Hall in Athens is an exercise in readiness and an act that entails responsibilities to the Greek people.
"We disagree with New Democracy's growth model and we believe it can't lead us to growth" Tsipras said.
Clearly the arrogant Mr. Johnson fears nothing and nobody and is acting on the basis of his self-deceptions and illusions.
The debate centred exclusively on the personal choices of the two party leaders rather than on broader institutional and national issues.
With his actions and choices Mr. Mitsotakis signaled that he leads a government which has its own plan and programme for an exit from the crisis
Will the government’s plan and decisiveness in implementing it prove stronger than the resistance that it will undoubtedly come up against?
'He is the man who for three-and-a-half years clamoured for elections, engaged in disaster-mongering, and predicted our failure even though he knew that we were putting a derailed economy back on track,”the former PM said.
The government is now obliged to present in detail its plan and programme and to implement it swiftly.
Citizens with their vote yesterday chose to have both a strong government and a strong opposition.
Mitsotakis said in a televised address that the election outcome gave him a strong and clear mandate to change Greece.
New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis is scheduled to be sworn in as Prime Minister by President Prokopis Pavlopoulos at the Presidential Mansion at 1pm tomorrow, 8 July.
“Mr. Tsipras bankrupted the name of the Left with the policies that he implemented and saddled the economy with an extra 200bn euro burden,” Gennimata declared, without
'He is not among those in New Democracy who governed between 2004-2009 and who led the country with their irresponsible economic policy a step closer to catastrophe,' the Germany daily says of the ND leader.
'He wants to unblock privatisations, reduce what he calls the state’s needlessly large footprint and make sure that Greece borrows at the same cost as other European countries,' Reuters reports.
The government is lacking in credibility, especially if one takes into account the delusions and self-deceptions that characterised its term in office and the accumulated burdens created by its obvious mistakes.
'Complacency is unjustifiable and the electoral result cannot be taken for granted. We cannot allow even a single vote to be lost,' Mitsotakis told a crowd of party supporters in Alexandroupolis today.
Greece has a number of smaller concessions mainly off its western coast, but the Crete concessions represent 40,000 square kilometers of territory virtually unexplored.
Instead of constantly rushing to answer all of Erdogan’s provocations and threats, it is more effective to create the necessary conditions and strengthen the necessary alliances to confront them on our own.
Tsipras’ tactic attempts to exploit anti-right wing voter reflexes that were once strong in Greek society but have waned dramatically as a citizenry battered a decade-long depression has come to believe that creditors set the overall agenda.
'Because it will be 7 July and people have a more lax tempo, I want to call for mass participation. The result is not pre-ordained. New Democracy’s victory is not a given. The strong mandate which I seek is not a given' the ND leader said.
'Greece is a sovereign country that is in a position to defend its sovereign rights. There is no scenario under which a [Turkish drilling ship] will drill in the Greek continental shelf because that will be blocked.'
Friends, associates, and various public figures told Mr. Tsipras that Mr. Varoufakis was a dreamer with ideological fixations who would damage the country and him.
It has been proven that the judiciary was used as a tool. High Court judges were manipulated and prosecutors were forced to or simply agreed to serve devious aims.
Top politicians – including three former prime ministers – were targeted by SYRIZA with allegations of corruption and loads of mud was slung at them.
'There was strife. He [Kotzias] nominated certain candidates that drew a negative reaction from local SYRIZA branches...but I am certain we will meet up in common pursuits in the future,' PM Tsipras said.
Government interventions in the judiciary occur almost daily as do governmental machinations. The effort to control, influence, and politically guide judicial functionaries were patently obvious.
Beyond easy slogans, hollow pledges, and opportunistic partisan interests, we must seek out and demand a specific plan and clear proposals on the economy, growth, social benefits, and education.
The PM is arguing that only SYRIZA can ensure growth combined with a strong social welfare net, which he claims New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mistotakis will dismantle.
Mitsotakis is running as the man who can re-unite a country deeply divided by the polarising strategy of a ruthless tactician.
He suddenly discovered extreme, conservative circles in Brussels and in the old regime in Greece which allegedly dream of a return to austerity and bailout memorandums.
SYRIZA has set up a cottage industry of patronage appointments in Parliament and elsewhere to benefit relatives, friends, and buddies.
'The result of the European election whetted the appetite of the political establishment in Greece and of extreme, conservative circles in Brussels which want to dispute our central political choices and hinder our plan,' the PM said.
It is no coincidence that Portugal borrows with much lower interest rates than Greece, as the yield on ten-year bonds demonstrates.
Within three years, Tsipras led a very small party to become one of the country’s top two parties, with a good shot at gaining power.
'We lost the battle but the war still lies ahead and we do not have the luxury or the right to retreat,' the PM said.
The leader of Olymiacos categorically dismissed rumours and scenarios that he is interested in entering the fray of national politics and declared that his sole passion is the Red and Whites.
The spectacle of the inauguration of non-existent infrastructure is not only an offence to the citizens of Thessaloniki.
The government and the opposition, trapped in a ruthless political clash just ten days before the European Parliament election, are downplaying or even ignoring Turkey’s evolving and escalating hostility in the region. With constant manoeuvres, Erdogan is disputing the status quo in the Eastern Mediterranean and seeking an opportunity to advance what he views as his interests. He has pressed forward with gas exploration in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic zone with a rather tepid international response. He formalised his claims by summoning the diplomats of neighbouring countries, including Cyprus, Egypt, and Greece. He is pressing on with huge military exercises and loses no opportunity to violate Greek airspace. If one factors in the tensions in the broader region – with attacks on ships and the open conflict between the US and Iran – it is clear that the situation is becoming explosive. The Greek government’s statements of condemnation obviously do not address the issue, nor does a merely formal alignment of the government and the opposition suffice to confront Ankara’s provocations. Unfortunately, domestic political polarisation does not permit the hammering out of a unified national line that can address current threats and provide a long-term national strategy. Pressured by domestic economic problems and his party’s loss of the Istanbul mayoralty, Erdogan is seeking a way out of his impasse abroad so as to rally his domestic political base. Erdogan is unpredictable and volatile and thus there is a danger that he might provoke a crisis that could easily spin out of control. There is enough military firepower gathered in the Eastern Mediterranean to pose the risk of triggering an explosion at any moment. The leader of the American superpower is also unstable and unpredictable enough to provoke a crisis in the region in order to flex his muscle. Meanwhile, the fact that the European Union is almost paralysed and unable at the moment to take bold decisions further complicates the situation. In Greece, the necessary national understanding is being undermined by the frenzied electoral campaign. The prime minister, who should have taken the initiative to rally political forces so as to forge a national strategy, is preoccupied with his struggle to cling to power at all costs. The result is that Greece is drifting and monitoring events as a bystander instead of seeking alliances and fending off designs and provocations. Though there is absolutely no room for complacency, we are preoccupied with polarising domestic clashes instead of seeking the basis for an understanding at least on national issues that have bedeviled us for decades. The government and the opposition, trapped in a ruthless political clash just ten days before the European Parliament election, are downplaying or even ignoring Turkey’s evolving and escalating hostility in the region.
'Mr. Tsipras is such a desperate liar that he is denouncing a contract that his government approved at a business that he has visited,' Mitsotakis said.
Despite Mr. Tsipras’ assurances that the general election will be held in October there are more and more indications that it may well be in June.
ND tabled the no confidence motion when Polakis attacked its European Parliament candidate Stelios Kimbouropoulos, a psychiatrist who is paraplegic, because he used affirmative action
'Now that we are not under [bailout memorandum] surveillance, we can demand a clear answer from the German government,' the PM declared on an electoral campaign stop.
The government should at long last show some recognition towards those parties that backed it in passing the third bailout memorandum in the summer of 2015 so as to keep the country from falling off a cliff.
Now the electoral victory of the socialists in Spain and the trouncing of the right-wing People’s Party are being exploited ahead of the upcoming electoral races in Greece.
The Greek and Chinese sides are to sign a new three-year cooperation framework between the Greek Economy Ministry and China’s Development and Reform Commission.
This government pledged much that it did not do and did much that it had not told us about. Still, one cannot but note its obsession with the sterile policy of benefits and pledges to everyone, with zero results.
PM Alexis Tsipras said he will turn the no confidence motion against the alternate health minister into a confidence vote for the government.
It is a dishonour for any politician to invoke a law that protects ministers from prosecution by requiring that Parliament lift his or her parliamentary immunity.
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