"Mr. Tsipras has proven repeatedly that he puts his personal career above everything else. He is an amoralist with an angel face,” stated Stavros Theodorakis in an interview with the journalist Konstantinos Zoulas published in the newspaper “Sunday Kathimerini”. In his first interview since the elections, the leader of Potami admits that he himself made mistakes, the major one being that he did not demand changes in the electoral law. Mr. Theodorakis excluded any possibility of cooperation with SYRIZA, urging all those who spread such scenarios to realize that “Potami is not politically equivalent to either ANEL or Leventis”.
Mr. Theodorakis also thinks that "Greece is still in a very dangerous position and there is no time to waste”, which is the reason he made 30 specific proposals in Parliament last Wednesday. He pointed out that “instead of repeating what I was saying before the elections, I chose to submit 30 specific proposals that would be implemented immediately if we had won the elections”. “I am not interested in the internal competition within New Democracy on who will be the toughest opposition to Tsipras. I am also not impressed by the declarations of Mr. Tsipras in Parliament, which only provoked a big yawn. I want to be in peace with my conscience, which is why I challenged Mr. Tsipras to cast aside his generalities and study the solutions that Potami developed. He is the one that was elected by the citizens. He must now decide to govern, » he added.
Mr. Theodorakis also expresses the opinion that “this country will not stand this government for too long, and that the ideological hang-ups of the government will not allow it to tackle even simple problems”. He predicted that "government reshuffles will start in December, and when that phase is completed, we will go to elections again. By then, however, the lies of Mr. Tsipras will be totally unveiled". Mr. Theodorakis stated that “Potami will not stop fighting for the establishment of a large progressive movement, in order to move the country away from long-lasting ills. There are politicians that dared to resist. They are our allies, but we will not embrace the mistakes of the past”.
Was it not presumptuous to address the Parliament on Wednesday as if you were the Prime Minister, while you only got 4%?
Not at all. Listen to me, Mr. Zoulas. Politics is solutions. The country has been ungoverned for eight months. All initiatives taken by SYRIZA proved catastrophic. Greece is still in a very dangerous situation and there is no time to waste. Instead of repeating what I was saying before the elections, I chose to submit 30 specific proposals that would be implemented immediately if we had won the elections. I am not interested in the internal competition within New Democracy on who will be the toughest opposition to Tsipras. I am also not impressed by the declarations of Mr. Tsipras in Parliament, which only provoked a big yawn. I want to be in peace with my conscience, which is why I challenged Mr. Tsipras to cast aside his generalities and study the solutions that Potami developed. He is the one that was elected by the citizens. He must now decide to govern.
Have you reached a conclusion on what went wrong and why Potami fell to 4%?
Up until the last moment, polls showed a cliffhanger. Many of our voters got carried away by this dilemma. Many of them have already regretted it, but, as you know “no mistake is recognized after you leave the voting booth".
So you actually believe that the result was circumstantial?
I believe what the analysts say. Potami has a much more important impact in society than what its electoral result shows. If the polls had shown that SYRIZA had a 6 to 7% lead, the result would have been completely different.
Did it hurt that for many say that Potami is just you and only you?
And Mr. Diamantouros is nothing? And our 8 experts who presented our proposals on TV? And our deputies who demonstrated an excellent presence in Parliament, what were they? From the start, Potami always relied on the strength of team work, and, believe me, this is how I work too.
You did not make any mistakes?
Obviously, the leader of the political party is the one that must assume most of the responsibilities. I did this right from the start. My biggest mistake was that, when the bailout of Mr. Tsipras arrived, I did not demand as a precondition to support him to change the electoral law. Unless the electoral law changes, we will never have effective governments. But, when the country is on the edge of the cliff, do you set preconditions for your vote?
Some claim that you actually paid for the fact that you were “flirting” with Mr. Tsipras. They say that you gave out the impression that you wanted to co-govern with SYRIZA.
If this is what we wanted, we would have done it on the 26th of January when Mr. Tsipras suggested it. We did not do it. We did not want it. But, this was a Prime Minister tottering between Europe and the drachma. Mr. Varoufakis said it himself. We had to support the European side of his. Did this have any cost for us? Yes, it did. Have I regretted it? No, I did not. Because what counted at that moment was the salvation of the country.
Do you still trust Mr. Tsipras now?
You keep posing the same question in different ways; I was not deceived by Mr. Tsipras. I have been out there in the street since I was a kid and I do not get fooled by people whose only images are the walls of political offices until they reach 30.
Honestly, how would you describe him in a few words?
Mr. Tsipras has proven repeatedly that he puts his personal career above everything else. He is an amoralist with an angel face. This is why I expect that his fall will be just as fast as his rise.
Why do you exclude any possibility of cooperation with SYRIZA?
Simply because Potami was not born to be a back-up for SYRIZA. All those who spread such scenarios must realize that Potami is not politically equivalent to either ANEL or Leventis, which seems to be the solution envisaged by Mr. Flambouraris.
However, there is a more significant reason that I do not wish to join any SYRIZA government. There is every reason to believe that Mr. Tsipras has not realized that his mistakes caused immeasurable damage to the economy. He has not figured out as yet what the country needs in order to overcome this dead-end. You only have to see the persons he placed in key positions. They are all failures from the past, who confess that they plan to sabotage everything that SYRIZA has agreed with our European partners. The few exceptions do not amount to much.
Why don’t you even consider cooperating with Ms. Gennimata, as it has been suggested by certain media?
I did not enter politics to do favors. If we wanted to have Ms. Gennimata or Mr. Tsipras as leaders, we would have stayed in our jobs. And to end these cooperation scenarios, let me remind you that PASOK governed for 16 years and New Democracy for 10 years. Much of what we live today is the result of their crimes. We will not forget it because the government of SYRIZA-ANEL looks even worse.
So, you say that, no matter what, Potami will participate in elections on its own?
I am telling you that Potami will not stop fighting for the establishment of a large progressive movement, in order to move the country away from long-lasting ills. There are politicians who dared to resist. They are our allies. However, we will not embrace the mistakes of the past.
Do you think that the government will complete its four-year term?
No. This country will not stand this government for too long. The ideological hang-ups of the government will not allow it to tackle even simple problems. Government reshuffles will start in December, and when that phase is completed, we will go to elections again. By then, however, the lies of Mr. Tsipras will be totally unveiled.
It has been almost two years since you left journalism. I would like you to tell me what really surprised you in active politics.
The cards are more marked than I ever thought. I was surprised by the Goebbels approach of some of our opponents, who slandered Potami with the logic that some of the lies will stick. And indeed, we might have been laughing at their lies, but some people believed them. But I was also negatively surprised by some of my friends. They are extremely strict towards Potami, but they are willing to be extremely tolerant towards all those who fool us all. But this is why winners are always the professional demagogues.
All that is heard from time to time regarding black money in politics, did you find it in front of you?
Of course. Corruption in Greek politics is like vermin. It has spread everywhere. And it is not about the five famous oligarchs that SYRIZA is denouncing, while preparing at the same time its own five in order to control things. I am talking about the corruption that is everywhere and, believe me, makes you sick.
You have been on tour all over Greece, 2 or 3 times so far. Have you managed to figure out the criteria, based on which citizens vote?
It is not easy to figure this one out. Greeks are progressive when it comes to criticizing, but conservative when it comes to voting. At times, they appreciate some, but vote for others. The dead-end that we experience is connected to our lack of capacity to turn our backs to populists and demagogues.
Do you think that there is no future for a political party, unless it adopts populist attitudes?
There have been times that I thought so. Yet, I did not enter politics hungry for a position. I entered to do what I consider right, and especially what I consider useful for my country.
Given this last failure, have you regretted your decision? Would you start today this effort with Potami?
Do not discourage me… I do not think that I failed. As my friend Giorgos Mavrotas, an Olympic winner, says “strong teams are built on defeats”. This made me stronger. I am sure that our effort and the efforts of thousands of people all over Greece will not go to waste. Our efforts will bear fruit, and sooner than our opponents imagine.
Photo credit: Theodore Manolopoulos
