Speaking on MEGA News 104.6 radio on Tuesday, 20 October, PASOK-Movement for Change leader Nikos Androulakis named populism, corruption and politics that hold the country back as his main opponent. He accused Kyriakos Mitsotakis of posing as the party of logic and responsibility, and asked whether the prime minister had ever stood on that front. Androulakis argued that had PASOK deputies voted in 2010 as Mitsotakis did, Greece would have been pushed back to the drachma. He framed the current exchange as an attempt to drag the debate back to 2015 instead of the cost of living, housing, banks, health and education.
“My opponent is populism, corruption and politics that do not move the country forward.”
Androulakis called 'absolutely false' the claim by Alexis Tsipras, the former prime minister, that he had taken Greece out of the memoranda after receiving the country bankrupt. Androulakis said the deficit stood at 5% when Syriza took over, while PASOK had handed over a deficit of 15%. In his account, the reduction to 2% was the credit Tsipras claimed for himself. He also took aim at the government's own record, saying that Finance Minister Kostas Pierrakakis had called the 120 installments unnecessary and populist, yet the measure was introduced only a few days later. He added that Tsipras had called the 13th pension undeliverable, yet it could be paid at the end of October although not in early October.
Androulakis set out PASOK's plan as 'victory in the elections and political change', defining change as New Democracy moving into opposition plus implementation of the programme the party presented at the Thessaloniki International Fair. Asked about partners, he said these would depend on the alignments that voters create at the ballot box rather than on any pre-agreed alliance. He said PASOK would have a cabinet with people ready to serve as foreign and economy ministers, because the party has both a programme and personnel.
“If I have the mandate and PASOK is the first party, New Democracy will be in opposition.”
He also urged Mitsotakis to bring PASOK's private debt bill to parliament for debate, according to SKAI's report of the interview.
On the protests in France, Androulakis said a new generation believes it will not live better than its parents, given weak social protection, housing policy and opportunities. He said young people should protest with respect for others and that burning a kiosk or damaging a small business helps no one's cause. He attributed the damage to infiltrators rather than to young people. He called for a new European model of public health, education and housing, and argued that cohesion funds should not be diverted to defence, which needs a common army, joint arms purchases and a common foreign policy alongside those funds. He also said a Putin-Trump agreement would be paid for by Ukraine and European peoples and that Marine Le Pen appears to hold the leading voice in France today.
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PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis said on Tuesday, 20 October, that his party's goal is victory at the polls and that New Democracy should move into opposition. He also disputed Alexis Tsipras's account of Greece's exit from the bailouts.
AI text based on reports by Η Ναυτεμπορική, iefimerida.gr, NewsIT and other publishers. Published .