Tsipras opens two-day Epirus tour, calling for a shift in production and honesty

Opening stop in Eleousa

Alexis Tsipras, described by Skai as a former prime minister and by Nautemporiki as ELAS president, held meetings with productive bodies and citizens in Eleousa, the seat of the Zitsa municipality, at midday on Monday, 9 November. Speaking on arrival, he said the country needs a turn in production and a turn in integrity so that the countryside can be supported. He described the working people of the region as the future of the country.

“The country needs a turn towards production and a turn towards integrity, so that the countryside can be supported.”

Demographic decline and the production model

Tsipras said the fact that Epirus is one of the poorest regions in Europe, far below the European average, should concern everyone. He argued that the region's people are shrinking demographically and that the new productive age groups must be supported through a different production model. That model, in his account, requires development planning, specific interventions, social justice, productive reconstruction and decentralisation. He also criticised the current production model and the New Democracy government of Mr Mitsotakis for favouring a small group of well-off people at the expense of producers.

“Epirus has people who are fighting for a better tomorrow, people with dignity, with perseverance, with strength, but who are shrinking demographically.”

Schedule for the rest of the tour

At 19:30 on Monday he is due in East Zagori, in the village of Milliotades, to meet and talk with residents. On Tuesday, 10 November, the programme includes a visit to the BIPE industrial area in Ioannina, followed by a stop in Acheroussia in Preveza, where he will meet olive growers and fishermen from the Preveza area. That afternoon he is scheduled to speak at a gathering of friends and members of ELAS Preveza.