The attack by Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras against Alexis Tsipras is far from innocent according to SYRIZA officials, who claim the government is orchestrating an effort to manufacture an opponent, as the ruling party’s poll numbers show a declining trend, according to sources at Koumoundourou.
Specifically, Koumoundourou officials who see their political future alongside the former prime minister note that in recent hours, the government has attempted to revive a confrontation (with Yannis Stournaras) that many thought had ended, while promoting a narrative without real foundation, such as Haris Theocharis’ revelation about drachma printing.
The same sources point out that New Democracy is actually trying to revive the anti-SYRIZA front through Yannis Stournaras’ interview, rallying those opposed to Alexis Tsipras around the prime minister. They argue this tactic stems from the fact that PASOK cannot appear as a threat to New Democracy, as it has been unable to increase its poll numbers to date.
Thus – SYRIZA officials maintain – since Alexis Tsipras follows a measured tactic that currently doesn’t clash with popular sentiment, and while through ITHAKI he has attempted to present his own view of events, “the Maximos Mansion decided to remind voters of the policy Alexis Tsipras pursued during negotiations, with the third memorandum, capital controls, and closed banks.” “Through his interview, specifically with the Truth Team, Yannis Stournaras served the government, though naturally not without compensation. As Alexis Tsipras said, the Bank governor seeks renewal of his term, while the government wants to bring the Tsipras bogeyman back to current affairs,” say those who believe the government is behind this well-orchestrated story.
They also note that what Deputy Foreign Minister Haris Theocharis supported regarding the drachma scenario is monstrous. “I remember because I denounced the plan, I had specific informants within ministries who told me about specific measures they were ready to implement. Price increases on medicines, not paying civil servants for a month. There was a complete plan. It was a complete plan to go to the drachma,” the government member stated, attempting to bring back scenarios that had been heard in the past and have been refuted.
Many SYRIZA and New Left officials not close to Tsipras rally to his side after Stournaras attack
However, Yannis Stournaras’ attack on Alexis Tsipras, particularly through the Truth Team, caused many SYRIZA and New Left officials who are not close to the former prime minister to react and side with him. After Pavlos Polakis appeared to support Alexis Tsipras, noting he agreed with everything the former prime minister wrote in his response post to the Bank of Greece governor, New Left Secretary Gavriil Sakellaridis appeared fierce against Yannis Stournaras in his own post.
After noting that the Greek banker could give interviews wherever he wanted, he emphasizes: “Nevertheless, he chooses to give an interview to the most corrupt, most toxic, and most propagandistic mechanism of the Mitsotakis system, the Truth ‘Team’,” adding that this is the “medium” that has led in slander, character assassination, and spreading the most toxic and far-right darkness on social media.
He added: “Y. Stournaras is known, from his first day in BoG management, to not be independent. Today he tells us straight to our faces – in his way and with the symbols he chooses – that banking system supervision is conducted in the name of K. Mitsotakis and his corrupt system,” emphasizes Gavriil Sakellaridis, characteristically adding: “Not that we didn’t know, but it’s different when they tell you so directly.”
It should be noted that even the leak from the presidency regarding what Konstantinos Tasoulas said with Alexis Tsipras has made many believe that the plan to undermine the former prime minister is much larger than it appears.
