Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted that he had met Stefanos Kasselakis before, while he emphasized that he did not expect to end up in SYRIZA.
Among other things, Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke about the developments in SYRIZA and the election of Stefanos Kasselakis as its leader in the interview he gave to Alpha.
The prime minister said: “First of all I wish the new leader of the opposition good luck. I think it is also important for SYRIZA that this chapter is closed. He is a young man, I personally like him, I happened to know him from the past as well. Between us I never imagined that it would end up in SYRIZA, but that is another discussion. I respect and honor him as a statesman, because he was elected through democratic procedures.”
The saying “fire”
He then added: “I would make some initial remarks of a purely political nature. The first has to do with the fact that, so far, I haven’t heard – and I don’t think I’m the only one who says this – substantive, informed political discourse. But give him time, he’s still young. I believe that at some point we will be able to have a political confrontation, because so far I am honestly struggling. Because I can’t argue with the void, I have to have a political argument. However, I believe that this will come over time.”
About the absence of Kasselakis from the Parliament
The prime minister also referred to the issue of the absence of Stefanos Kasselakis from the Parliament since he is not elected.
“The second point is that this will not come to the Parliament, however, because he is not an MP. And that is a problem, I must tell you, for a parliamentary democracy. Because we do not have the possibility to cross our swords in the natural space of political confrontation, which in a parliamentary democracy…”, said Mr. Mitsotakis.
“However, this is again a decision taken by SYRIZA, but it will certainly create a difficulty for the citizens to draw some conclusions from the comparison that always arises through this parliamentary process,” the prime minister emphasized.
For the deputy leaders Kasselakis
Mr. Mitsotakis then underlined that: “But the biggest issue is another for me, it’s not so much the first two. It is: how young is Mr. Kasselakis after all when he has Mr. Pappas and Mr. Polakis as deputy leaders. Therein lies a major issue, if in the end what is presented as new is nothing more than a new storefront recycling the older, more worn-out materials that were resoundingly condemned in the dual elections of May and June.
There, so far, the writing samples are definitely not the writing samples of a substantial renewal. Beyond the image, if one digs a little deeper, one sees the most problematic faces, Mr. Pappa of 13-0, Mr. Polakis, I don’t think I need to say much, the citizens have formed their opinion. They seem to be in command at the moment in SYRIZA. So, the argument that SYRIZA is changing towards something new, modern, however, is not served by such options”.
About Mitsotakis-Kasselakis meeting
Afterwards, Mr. Mitsotakis clarified how the two met, while noting that they had no cooperation.
“There was no collaboration, he said so himself. There was a social acquaintance in the past when I was still a Member of Parliament and he himself was a young worker, if I remember correctly, in the United States. That’s how we got to know each other,” he said.
“As I told him, of course, I am at his disposal. I think it is perfectly reasonable to have meetings between political leaders, especially when a new leader is elected. I am always in the mood to meet, to talk. I hope I don’t have to wait as long as I’m still waiting with Mr. Androulakis”, concluded the prime minister regarding the new president of SYRIZA.
Source: in.gr
