The SYRIZA state deputy Othonas Iliopoulos announced his resignation in a letter at noon on Saturday (10/8), requesting that his seat be given to the party’s president, Stefanos Kasselakis.
Othon Iliopoulos’ letter in detail:
Dear Mr. President,
In the 2023 elections, Alexis Tsipras did me the great honor of placing me at the head of the state ballot of SYRIZA – Progressive Alliance as a representative of Hellenism in Exile.
From this honorable position I had the responsibility to defend in the Greek Parliament the vision that SYRIZA has for a democratic and socially just Greece.
I actively participated in the discussions on the electoral law proposed by SYRIZA, according to which expatriate Greeks should have the direct right to elect and be elected to fill a certain number of their representative positions. Our opinion was and is, that Greeks abroad should not simply “lend” their votes to Greek parties, as is the case with the current law.
I also actively participated, with my interventions in the Parliament and with my articles, in the debate about the changes in the field of Education in our country, arguing that only the strengthening of public and free education with money, a plan for research with the distribution of research funds of funds in a regular, predictable and transparent manner (as was done through the ELIDEK instituted by SYRIZA), with continuous modernization of programs and recruitment of new scientists can lead to the upgrading of higher education and create an added value entrepreneurship.
It was with sadness and pain that I watched and watch the complete collapse of the public health system. I have written repeatedly proposing specific measures for an integrated, modern, holistic universal public health program that we developed in SYRIZA with work in the Health Sector and the Health Think Tank that I coordinated for two years.
In these directions I submitted from my office and co-signed dozens of questions, I participated in the public debate and through the Committees of the Parliament but also from television and by writing articles in the press. Finally, as Head of the Department of Hellenism Abroad, together with the members of the Secretariat of Hellenism Abroad of SYRIZA, we drafted comprehensive positions of our party that reflect the anxiety of our compatriots abroad for learning the Greek language, the spread of Greek-language education in mixed schools abroad and a better, living and lasting connection of themselves and their children with our country.
I have tried all this time with enthusiasm and determination to fulfill my duties as a Member of Parliament and at the same time to continue my research work abroad.
I head a highly specialized clinic in genetic diseases that cause cancer and direct a US National Research Foundation-funded laboratory dedicated to the discovery of new targeted therapies and drugs for cancer. I have been fortunate in my career so far and our efforts over the past few years have met with great success. We brought new drugs for the treatment of specific types of cancer into daily clinical practice. Consequently the volume of both our clinical and research work has multiplied with beneficial results for our patients.
At the same time, however, the developing political scene in the country and the defense of the fundamental rights of citizens now require a daily presence and even longer periods of my stay in Greece.
Faced with these centrifugal forces and with a sense of responsibility for the obligations I have undertaken, I submit my immediate resignation from the position of State Deputy. The State ballot of SYRIZA-PS in the 2023 elections was adorned by prominent personalities of the political and social sphere. Each and every one of my co-candidates, inside and outside the Parliament, fought and will fight for a modern and fair Greece. I hope that the act of my resignation will not deprive my compatriots abroad of the possibility of their representation, since I am resigning in favor of the other expatriate Greek on our ballot, the elected President of SYRIZA, Stefanos Kasselakis. I consider that this thought of mine also reflects the will of the thousands of SYRIZA voters abroad who would like their “voice” in the Greek Parliament to be one of them.
I always remain a fighting executive and a proud member of the Central Committee of SYRIZA PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE and I will continue to fight in Greece and abroad for a democratic socialist society.
Thank you for your cooperation during the previous session of Parliament.
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