Watch the remaining videos (2-6) of his speech by clicking here
SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras said on Friday that his party's plan will meet all the basic commitments of the country for primary surplus and a sustainable debt, nonetheless he did not, or rather he totally avoided addressing national issues such as illegal immigration, crime, the issue of FYROM, Greek-Turkish relations and the issue of Thrace.
He also said that his standard is not the PASOK of Andreas Papandreou, however, "the PASOK of Andreas Papandreou said some right things too. We will be judged for the stability of our ideas. Obviously we will not everything if we terminate the memorandum, but will reverse the course of our country toward poverty. We can not say that we will create heaven from hell from one day to the next because we will receive a destroyed country." In a relevant question he asked for the review of Europe’s framework and considered that it is our great opportunity to make changes with the other peoples of Europe.
We applaud him for launching an attack on the media, the contractors and the crooked banking system but our economy is one thing... our national issues are another and what good is strengthening an economy when your country has totally fallen apart?
Mr. Tsipras cannot avoid these subjects any longer.
Position In NATO and Defence
Regarding the country’s stay in NATO he said "leaving NATO in not our programming position" and that SYRIZA has a clear position that Greece will become a pillar of peace and security with no Greek soldiers in Afghanistan. (I can say this as well... be more specific Mr. Tsipras)Foreign Policy
For the subjects of foreign policy said the country must have an active and multidimensional foreign policy and can not be dominated by the outdated perception that we belong to the West. He asked that we restore our relations with Russia, the Brics countries (emerging economies like Brazil, India, China, South Africa) as a country, and that we have a say in the developments in the Mediterranean. (This we agree with, but Greece must restore and be on friendly relations with ALL countries not just a selected few).
The causes of the immigration problem
Tsipras said that we must renegotiate in the European context, for the problem of immigration and demanded a change in the Dublin II agreement. On this issue he added that we must fight for changing Europe΄s position in relation to its immigration policy. (As you can see there is no mention of the ongoing problem in Greece, nor does it address the thousands of incidences that are ocuring around the country at the moment and that involve illegal immigrants. We also want to know... his party has said it was going to offer illegal immigrants a monthly allowance... we ask, is this going to be taken from Greece tax payers as well?)
His announcement regarding the banks
Regarding banks he wondered "we will say to the banker: You can’t chip in from your own? Go home now", and announced common shares with voting rights in the Greek public sector if SYRIZA becomes the next government. He cited the example of US President Barack Obama who nationalized two banks. He justified this proposal by saying that the operation and profits of the banks should erase a portion of the State’s damage and help the market. He also proposed a cut of at least 30% on private debts. (This we agree with, and we liked this move by Mr. Barak Obama as well).
New, national tax system
Tsipras asked for a new national tax system, simple, fair and scalable, posing as a prerequisite a wealth chart through which everyone will be obliged to declare the movable and immovable property at home and abroad and that if someone would make false statements they would have their property confiscated. Regarding high taxation he wondered if ship owners are worth saying that they will take down the Greek flags at a time of war in our country. He also noted the 58 tax exemptions enjoyed by ship owners. (We agree on the most part with this proposal as well, but again this is too general and does not have any specifics. When someone outlines an economic policy they should give a time frame and a price... this we did not hear.)
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