In his interview with Skai TV station, leader of To Potami Stavros Theodorakis stated: “There can be a worse image, for us and the tourists who have already started arriving in our country, than seeing people in tents, clashing over a slice of bread. This is a shame for them, for us and for the government. If migrants and refugees chose to settle in Syntagma Square, would we let allow this to happen? There are solutions in the serious states. We are supposed to transfer these people to organized accommodation centers”.
In a comprehensive interview, Stavros Theodorakis attacked the government on insisting on dividing even the judges, into its own and the “others’”, pointing out that inability and populism prevent the country from giving solutions to issues of the society and the economy.
Commenting on the debts of political parties, he stated that To Potami, ever since it was created, promised that it would not borrow a penny from banks. He reiterated his proposal on the need to control the loans of political parties and media and he stressed: “It is inconceivable that media are able to borrow money, when citizens with serious investment proposals are unable to do so”.
Commenting on the possibility of early elections, he said “We cannot have elections every six months, because we are standing before the edge of the cliff. If Mr Tsipras is unable to govern, then he must admit it before the Parliament, so that we can talk about it”.
Finally, asked to comment on his meeting, today, with the President of PASOK Fofi Gennimata, Mr Theodorakis said: “What matters is not us getting united, but multiplied. We want a new alliance, but this will depend on how many of them and who will join our dialogue. If, at the end of the day, there will be only the President New Democracy, PASOK and myself, this will be pointless”.
The leader of To Potami also stated:
“We are not willing to enter a populistic government with Mr Kammenos and Mr Tsipras. The presence of Mr Kammenos is not the only reason why we abstain. Many SYRIZA ministers are just like him. Not in terms of political ideologies, some might say that they are leftists, but in the essence of politics. In terms of politics they are the same. We are not to enter this government. We have already made this clear”
“This government is not doing what it is supposed to do properly. It uses incapable people and it implements populistic policies. Yet, this does not mean that we can have elections every six months. It needs to deal with its pending issues and problems”.
“Europe, just like Merkel, has its own responsibilities. It took Europe too long to “wake up” and see that refugee flows keep rising. Now, Europe has woken up, but it does not assume its responsibilities. The fact that many states refuse to absorb a number of refugees is a shame to Europe. But, this is not the current problem of the country. We have delayed. We had pointed out this fact to the Prime Minister, in every possible tone”.
“In this Europe that is in fear, we need to be very careful with the images that we send out abroad, from the ports and the airports of the country. There are populists and nationalists out there, claiming that we spend money for the sake of refugees. We need to point out something. The agreement, which has been reached for some time now, anticipates that all expenditures on refugees and migrants will be undertaken by the European Union. Let’s make this straight, so that we don’t lie to people”.
Photo credit: Theodore Manolopoulos
