Tsipras gives perspective on something he believes he remembers
“SYRIZA sought favors from my father”
According to Andreas Psycharis, “it’s not time to say what the conversations contained, but SYRIZA sought favors from my father. For example, there was a SYRIZA minister who, to give an interview to ‘Vima,’ had requested a favor from my father and said ‘if you don’t do this for me, I won’t give the interview.’ My father did the favor so the interview could happen and the news could come out. Another favor that SYRIZA had requested while in opposition, and I was present, was on the Friday before Tsipras’ speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair. We were at my father’s country house in Porto Heli when he received a phone call telling him that Tsipras would like his speech broadcast on Mega because ERT wouldn’t broadcast it. My father gave the OK for it to be broadcast because he thought it would interest the public, since newspapers, channels, and websites are always interested in news. Usually politicians ask something from journalists. My father had no other business activity besides newspapers. It was known that DOL faced problems, like all media at that time. It’s difficult for politicians to intervene with banks and tell them to do this or that. Banks operate by different criteria,” he further emphasizes.
“Alexis Tsipras is an intelligent person, which is why he became prime minister. The programs he had in 2012 and 2015 were wrong. A politician can make mistakes. Nobody is infallible. My father was always pro-Europe. We look to the West, not the East. All businessmen and publishers in 2012 were in favor of staying in the EU. In 2015 I don’t remember any businessman voting no in the referendum. It was also everyone’s victory that Tsipras turned the ‘No’ into ‘Yes.’ He acted very correctly, although this game cost us a lot of money and brought the Superfund,” states Andreas Psycharis.
“Varoufakis and all those he criticizes in his book – he chose them. He formed a government with Kammenos. He had choices but didn’t make them. When Kammenos in 2012 said he’d form a government with Samaras, he wanted to get the Defense Ministry, but Mr. Samaras and Evangelos Venizelos didn’t want to govern with him. These were Tsipras’ choices. He chose Kammenos, Varoufakis, Polakis, Lafazanis. Zoe Konstantopoulou, who is intelligent and kudos to her for entering Parliament – I take my hat off to her – who made her Parliament Speaker? He did. A prime minister must be judged by his choices. Some from the opposition criticize Kyriakos Mitsotakis for his choices. However, the government, despite its mistakes, is doing well. We have a better image in the EU than we had from 2017-2019. That’s why they gave him a second chance. I believe he’ll win a third time because there’s no substantial opposition. A prime minister is judged by his choices,” he continues.
“The fact that everyone went on Saturday nights to see what Stavros Psycharis had written in his lead article in ‘Vima’ speaks for itself. He was an emblematic figure in the press, but others will tell you about him. I consider him the best journalist who ever worked in Greece. He made history in how he built ‘Vima,’ he was its youngest director, he changed the press tremendously – in these things he was radical. Even in the past DOL had problems – in the ’80s – and he had saved it. In the ’80s he had sold the Syngrou building to Agrotiki and thus Agrotiki was saved. Clearly though, with the bailout programs, the press suffered tremendously. And when you have businesses only in the press and no other income, financial problems come. Of course, only DOL closed, but that’s another issue,” concludes Andreas Psycharis.
