Main opposition SYRIZA leader was invited to speak on Monday night's "Netweek" with host Elli Stai on the state NET channel, and trust us... this interview could become a case study for journalism schools because Mr. Tsipras either generalized, was too vague, changed the subject altogether or left questions unanswered. Indeed this is a tactic used by many politicians, but obviously there are limits. It kind of reminds us here at HellasFrappe of the interviews that George Papandreou was giving prior to the 2009 national elections where he never revealed his cards (economic and political agenda), and we all know what happened after he was elected. Elli Stai did her best, keeping the tones low and allowing viewers to draw their own conclusions, but to no avail he declined to be specific and in our opinion thus showed a lack of political maturity.
For instance, only several months after two election runs, Tsipras actually called for general elections arguing that they should be held before the German elections - scheduled for September - in order to halt Greece's catastrophic course, pledging that his party, as the new government to emerge, would seek a viable solution for the country.
He said that SYRIZA would even form an alliance "with the devil" to achieve results for Greece, while adding that the International Monetary Fund must clash openly with Germany instead of mincing its words.
So let's get this straight... Tsipras is siding with the IMF over Europe? What alliance? (Draw your own conclusions...)
This statement was so suspicious that it even drew the reaction of the government, with government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou accusing Tsipras of "political opportunism". Kedikoglou said that now that even if Tsipras teams up with the devil "the ship" (meaning Greece) still remains without a compass.
Tsipras opposed the government's privatizations policy, calling it a looting of the state, and called for a clampdown on corruption and for the problems of bureaucracy and the environment to be dealt with but when asked how these funds would be raised, he refused to elaborate.
The leader of SYRIZA said that the problems of bureaucracy, corruption and the environment need to be tackled and a climate of stability is needed in order for the country to attract investments, while the "local oligarchy comprised of a few families that control the country's political and economic life" also must be dealt with. We agree, but this is just rhetoric, and he did not specify what his party would do to tackle this.
Questioned on the latest opinion polls showing a rise in the popularity of the coalition government and its supporting parties, and a drop in SYRIZA, Tsipras opined that after the disbursement of the recent tranche of the EU/IMF bailout loan a false expectation was created by the government "while all around us there is a harsh reality: the tranches the country is receiving are barely sufficient to keep the banks from going bankrupt, but are not enough for the Greek people not to go bankrupt".
Finally, Tsipras noted that German Chancellor Angela Merkel was not telling the truth to the German people, in light of the upcoming elections, that the programme for Greece has failed.
Posts
