Former SYRIZA president and former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras issued a strong response to government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis who criticized him following his interview with French newspaper Le Monde. “We have returned to widespread corruption. The recent European agricultural subsidies scandal is quite indicative,” Tsipras emphasized in his statement.
Read: Alexis Tsipras: The “bombshell” message and confirmation of his return via Le Monde
“My government chose to burden the wealthiest with the weight of austerity and reduced inequalities. Under the conservative government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, which has been in power since 2019, inequalities are increasing. Between 2015 and 2019, the incomes of the poorest 10% increased by 45%, while they decreased by 2.7% for the richest 10%,” he added among other points.
It should be noted that earlier, regarding the former prime minister’s recent interview, Marinakis emphasized that “the only ones who have missed Mr. Tsipras are the 17,000 felons, rapists and arsonists – his governance was the happiest period for them. Mr. Tsipras lost in the elections in all geographical areas, in all professional groups except for those imprisoned. The works and days of Mr. Tsipras are well known: he burdened citizens with 100 billion euros, deceived Greek society, he is the prime minister whose own Justice Minister spoke of a para-Ministry of Justice, he is the one who governed with the extreme Right, surely no one will forget all this.”
Alexis Tsipras: The new intervention after the Le Monde interview
In the post he made on Facebook, the former prime minister wrote the following:
– Current growth benefits only a minority. According to the latest surveys, conducted at the beginning of the year, only one in five Greeks lives well, 45% of the population faces financial difficulties and 35% is in debt.
– Greece managed to restructure its public debt, which allowed it to exit the international program in August 2018 and regain its economic autonomy… and to benefit from low interest rates until 2032.
– My government chose to burden the wealthiest with the weight of austerity and reduced inequalities. Under the conservative government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, which has been in power since 2019, inequalities are increasing. Between 2015 and 2019, the incomes of the poorest 10% increased by 45%, while they decreased by 2.7% for the richest 10%. Conversely, between 2019 and 2023, the incomes of the poorest 10% decreased by 8.1%, while the incomes of the richest 10% increased by 13%.
– We have returned to widespread corruption. The recent European agricultural subsidies scandal is quite indicative.
*Read the full intervention by Alexis Tsipras here
