Michalis Katrinis at BIMA: “For some it is easy to compromise with a small PaSoK” – 2024-09-28 22:21:13

How did you make the decision to run and why would a PaSoK voter support Michalis Katrinis?

For some it is easy to settle for a small PSO of 13 or 15%. Perhaps because they can manage it themselves based on their personal strategies, either to keep a small and narrow party power or to turn the PaSoK into a crutch and government partner of Mr. Mitsotakis. I do not agree with this logic. Let’s understand one thing: to gain the trust of the citizens we must first convince them that we can be the opposition that the country currently lacks. Opposition means breaking with the choices of maintenance and stagnation. In the Parliament, in society and in the public discourse, I have shown that I mean the opposition. In practice.

In your speeches, you raise the issues of the economy and often attack New Democracy and the government. In short and simply, how can the everyday life of the citizen be made better?

Right now cartels in the market and in the economywhich are the creation of Mr. Mitsotakis, plunder the income of the citizens through precision and increased energy prices. I will only talk to you about these two issues that concern the everyday life of the citizen, about how they can be dealt with. What does free market mean? It means competition. Is there competition here? No. There is a cartelized economy with oligopolies and a government that simply acts as a traffic policeman. Even the Competition Commission is understaffed, without staff. And this is no accident.

There are solutions: first and best is limiting the country’s dependence on food imports and creating the conditions to achieve nutritional sufficiency. Then the reduction of VAT on basic food items. Regarding energy, I have proposed the creation of a State Company for the production of green energy that will ensure low prices for citizens and create real competitive conditions. If one does not talk about them, if one does not dare to mention them in order not to displease the rich and powerful, how is it possible to convince that one can defend the citizens? How can he talk about PaSoK?

You are the only candidate to be elected in the region and specifically in the prefecture of Ilia. At the same time you have toured all over the country. What are the biggest problems facing the Greek province?

Most Greek regions are among the poorest in Europe. There is not only developmental delay but also degradation of health structureslack of infrastructure. The Creative and Productive Greece and the Greece of Regional Development, the Greece that invests in the revitalization of the forgotten Greek Province, must come to the fore. This means supporting only investments that have a productive dimension and create jobs. It means regional development plan for each region. It means new financial tools such as the Island and Mountain Fund with European and national resources. Regarding energy, what I propose is the creation of a State Green Energy Production Company that will ensure low prices for citizens and break the operation of the cartels.

Can you single out an incident that happened to you?

All the incidents that have marked me are connected to my contact with ordinary citizens. During the time that I am traveling all over Greece, the demand of the citizens is pressing and they say clearly “It is not going any further, a Great Front must be created that will free the country from the Mitsotakis government”. And I saw this everywhere. I saw it in the loyal voters of PaSoK who did not abandon PaSoK in difficult times. I saw it in people who supported PaSoK but were disappointed, bitter, moved away. I saw it even in citizens who voted for Mr. Mitsotakis but do not identify with his choices and practices.

You are from what we call a native of PaSoK. From a young age, you climbed step by step through the party and social hierarchy, you have now been a member of parliament for several years and now a candidate for president. What was your best moment over the years and what was the most difficult?

The best moment was my election the first time I ran for Parliament. The most difficult, the time when we had to take difficult decisions of responsibility for the salvation of the country. This was a difficult path, when some others had chosen populism, easy promises that were left without a counterpoint. But politics means responsibility.

“In the Parliament, in society and in the public discourse, I have shown that I mean the opposition. In practice”.

What was the first gathering you remember?

I never left PaSoK, my relationship with PaSoK is a lifelong relationship. I was elected Member of Parliament by the vote of the citizens, all these years I have acted consistently, with proposals, with truth and work. I always look back to remember where I started and those who embraced me and believed in me. And I always remember with great emotion and feelings of love my first gathering in a cafe, in a mountain village of Ilia.

On October 14th, what will PASoK be like if you are elected and what will you do if another of your co-candidates is elected president?

The citizens will decide what the PaSoK will be like on October 6. I talked before about hidden agendas. Those who want PaSoK to become the small and convenient government partner, to be offered as a crutch to keep New Democracy and Mr. Mitsotakis in government. I talked about the logic of silenceaccording to which PaSoK should not say anything that might disturb the financially powerful. I spoke of the logic which in our national affairs and foreign policy identifies the right side of history with the side of servitude. If these logics prevail, then how will PaSoK differ from New Democracy? I believe in a Great Democratic Party, which will unite the social majority that crushed Mr. Mitsotakis in the European elections.