“We are blackmailed, by not by our allies. We are blackmailed by certain conservative groups in Europe and by the lobby of the drachma, which includes, unfortunately, many high ranking allies of Mr. Tsipras", stated Stavros Theodorakis, the leader of Potami, in an interview with Dimitra Kroustalli in “Vima tis Kiriakis”. He added “Many invest in the country’s exit from the euro. And, I do not mean that they only invest ideas”.
Stavros Theodorakis in an interview with Dimitra Kroustalli
Mr. Theodorakis explained that the government should have concluded the deal in March, and should have started implementing reforms since February in the social security system, cuts in public expenditures, fewer high-ranked officials in Ministries, and so on. He added that “horizontal taxes are unfair, because they are paid by both poor and rich people”. He concluded “the Greek politicians must bear the responsibility of implementing the programs, because they know the Greek reality.
Following are the most important parts of the interview published in “Vima tis Kiriakis”:
“We are blackmailed, by not by our allies. We are blackmailed by certain conservative groups in Europe and by the lobby of the drachma, which includes, unfortunately, many high ranking allies of Mr. Tsipras", stated Stavros Theodorakis, the leader of Potami, in an interview with Dimitra Kroustalli in “Vima tis Kiriakis”. He added “Many invest in the country’s exit from the euro. And, I do not mean that they only invest ideas”.
On the one hand, the journalists want to see us as SYRIZA partners, on the other hand, they want to see us as a crutch to Samaras. Well, we will be neither. I will tell you that Potami has in its mind and its plans a different, progressive governance logic. Therefore, we are very far from both the leftist populism of SYRIZA and the demagogic Right.
Mr. Theodorakis says that the government should have concluded the deal in March, and should have started implementing reforms since February in the social security system, a ceiling to high pensions, elimination of early retirements, cuts in public expenditures, a single centralized procurement authority; procurements have enriched many politicians, mayors and civil servants. Also, fewer high-ranked officials in Ministries - in the past 15 years, General Secretariats have been established for every imaginable activity.
Horizontal taxes are unfair, because they are paid by both the poor and the rich. The rise in insurance contributions of workers and companies raises the cost of labor. The private sector in Greece has paid for the crisis more than anyone else.
The ones designing the programs have nothing to do with Greek reality. No one can know how wasteful is the Greek state, unless he lives in Greece. This is the case with companies too. There are people in Greece who steal, who are given business deals only because of their political connections. But there are also firms that play by the European rules. Therefore, when someone from abroad imposes a horizontal measure, he is inadvertently unfair to the law-abiding and helps the crooks. These fundamental details cannot be known by the Institutions. This is why the Greek politicians must bear the responsibility of implementing the programs.
28 June 2015
