Greek leftist chief calls for a ‘progressive’ front to overthrow conservatives

5 months ago 22

Greek socialist Pasok (S&D) and leftist Syriza (EU Left) need to end their “hegemony” approach and with other progressive forces, agree on an alternative governance plan to overthrow conservative New Democracy (EPP), the leader of New Left Alexis Charitsis told Euractiv in an interview.

In Athens, the political debate ahead of the EU elections in June is heating up as the latest polls show that the centre-right ruling New Democracy party is losing ground but is still leading the vote.

The latest polls suggested that New Democracy scores 31.3% (from 36.2%), followed by leftist Syriza (15.9% from 11.4%), while socialist Pasok ranks third with 13.4% (from 12.5%).

The New Left, which was recently established after a breakaway from Syriza, scores 3.8%, but analysts suggest it would play a kingmaker’s role in the event of a progressive coalition government.

“Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s government must go. Enough. But of course, this cannot be done simply by adding up the percentages of the opposition parties,” Charitsis told Euractiv.

He said for the Mitsotakis government to fall, there needs to be “a solid programmatic base from the opposition and an alternative left, progressive governance plan to the Mitsotakis plan”.

“This is what we do, and we invite the other forces to this logic, to this effort. However, this cannot be done as long as Syriza and Pasok leaderships operate with a logic of hegemony, integrating into the dominant strategic policies that the Mitsotakis government is currently making”, Charitsis noted.

“We need clear political talks, we need clear programmatic points on which we must and can discuss”, he said, adding that his party wants to play a vital role in the developments of the left and progressive political spectrum the day after the EU elections.

Last month, New Democracy survived a no-confidence vote pushed forward jointly for the first time by four parties from the progressive opposition.

Although the no-confidence vote did not pass, several analysts in Athens saw it as a test of their cooperation.

Who will lead a progressive front?

Referring to the upcoming EU elections, he said their result will send clear messages to all parties but above all, will remind Mitsotakis that he does not have a “blank cheque” to govern the country.

“These EU elections must be the beginning of the end of the Mitsotakis government”, he noted.

The leftist leader stressed that another challenge to face will be the rise of the far right which he described as “dangerous” for peoples’ interests.

Analysts in Athens suggest that if New Democracy falls below 30% it would be a problem for Mitsotakis.

However, in case the numbers add up, a big question is who is going to lead such a progressive coalition considering the fragile relations between those parties that could form it.

Pasok leader Nikos Androulakis does not get along with Syriza’s Stefanos Kasselakis, while Charitsis pulled out of Syriza after the election of Kasselakis in the main opposition party’s leadership.

Asked if former Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras could be the person to lead a progressive front, as some politicians have publicly suggested, Charitsis replied:

“At the moment the dominant question is not who, but in what way we will bring down Mitsotakis […] The crucial thing is what this program will be, what positions we will put forward, how we will convince the citizens that there is an alternative path”.

He added that the left and progressive forces can show an alternative as long as they insist on a programmatic proposal.

Mitsotakis addicted to breaching the Rule of Law

The government’s handling of a train accident that killed 57 people last year remains a key topic in Greece, with the opposition accusing the conservatives of attempting to cover it up and protect former transport minister Kostas Karamanlis.

An intervention in the case by EU Chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi, who said the authorities are obstructing the investigation, also raised eyebrows in Athens.

Particularly, speaking in the Greek parliament Prime Minister Mitsotakis attacked Kövesi saying she exceeded the limit of her competence while previously, health minister Adonis Georgiadis said the Greek government should find a way to question her position.

“Mitsotakis and his ministers have become so addicted to the violation of the rule of law that they are not limited to our national borders […] they now make anti-democratic and anti-institutional interventions as in the recent attacks against the European Prosecutor”, Charitsis noted.

He added that the Greek prime minister must understand that in democracy there are institutions that function and referred to a recent EU Parliament resolution raising concerns about the status quo of the Greek rule of law.

(Sarantis Michalopoulos | Euractiv.com – Edited by Alice Taylor)