The effort to deconstruct the political narrative and the attempt to relaunch Alexis Tsipras’s political presence began yesterday by the government and New Democracy, even before the former prime minister’s official announcements.From early in the morning, Mr. Tsipras faced intense criticism from leading New Democracy officials, who sought to link his return to the memory of his time in office.
The government campaims to nip any momentum of the new venture in the bud, given that the latest poll (as well as the unofficial ones available to the Prime Minister’s office) show Alexis Tsipras in second place.
This is the context for the effort to bring the events of the 2015 negotiations and the cost of that period to the country back into the spotlight. Government sources described him as a politician who is “unrepentant and unchanged,” arguing that “all this communication and publicity” has resulted in the reappearance of the very same political figure that the public had rejected. At the same time, they accused the former prime minister of attempting “to turn Greece back many decades,” from the name of the new party to the “unfulfilled promises” and “toxic rhetoric.”
Kyriakos Mitsotakis had also set the tone for the government’s line earlier during the cabinet meeting, where, without directly naming the former prime minister, he spoke of new parties with “reappearing protagonists who wear a different mask while they are already known from their public presence.”
Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis took a similar line, bringing the 2015 negotiation period back into the public discourse—prompted by the relevant SKAI documentary. At the same time, he characterized Mr. Tsipras’s effort more as “communications rebranding”than as substantive political change and criticized the logic of one-man political formations, noting that “messiahs have never saved this country.”
From a different perspective but with the same aim, Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis wondered whether “Mr. Tsipras will even find a word to say about the great success of the PPCshare capital increase, ”while the statement by New Democracy spokesperson Alexandra Sdoukou was also sharp, as she accused the former prime minister of investing excessively in image and communication.
In the same vein, Minister of State Akis Skertsos placed particular emphasis on comparing the government’s achievements with the Tsipras administration, posing the political dilemma for the coming period: “Who do we want to be with? Those who promise 10 and barely deliver 1, or those who promise 10 and deliver at least 9 of them?”
What is the response
At the Maximos Mansion, they have already highlighted certain phrases from Alexis Tsipras’s speech yesterday, to which they are responding and will continue to do so systematically throughout the campaign period:
Tsipras: “We cannot stand by indifferently while our country constantly loses prestige.”
Maximos: “During Tsipras’s time in office, Greece was the example to avoid internationally. It literally became the ‘black sheep of Europe,’ found itself on the brink of Grexit, and the disastrous Tsipras-Varoufakis negotiations were paid for dearly by the citizens.”
Tsipras: “Researcher Yannis is getting ready to leave the country… Mr. Dimitris, who after forty years of work counts his pension before going to the supermarket… Eleni, a tourism worker who works entire summers without set hours and without knowing if she’ll have a job in the winter.”
Maximos: “During Tsipras’s time in office, an entire generation left the country. In contrast, over the past 7 years, more than 430,000 Greeks have returned out of the 730,000 who had emigrated for economic reasons. Under Tsipras, retirees stood in shameful lines outside ATMs, while the VAT was raised on all supermarket products, even food. Under Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s government, pensioners received raises for the first time in 14 years, while Katrougkalos’s personal bonus was eliminated. Under Tsipras, young people worked without set hours and for salaries of 300 euros.”
Tsipras: “Contempt for the rule of law, manipulation of institutions and the judiciary—corruption is the norm for amassing wealth and power.”
Maximos: “Under Tsipras, a de facto Ministry of Justice operated within Maximos; his ministers were irrevocably convicted 13-0, and shortly before leaving office, his government downgraded the crime of bribery to a misdemeanor, rewarding "acquittals" for corruption, both major and minor. The improvements made in recent years to the rule of law in Greece are recognized by the European Commission, while the Commissioner responsible for the Rule of Law highlighted our country’s tremendous progress.”
Tsipras: “The country ranks among the lowest in the EU in terms of minimum and average wages and among the highest in terms of cost of living, with ever-widening inequalities.”
Maximos: “Under Tsipras, unemployment was at 18%, the minimum wage was 650 euros, and it was among the lowest in the EU. Today it has risen to 920 euros; we rank 11th among EU countries, and it will exceed 950 euros by 2027. Over the past 7 years, unemployment has fallen to 8%, the average wage in Greece has risen more than cumulative inflation, resulting in average consumption—the best indicator of income convergence—rising to 81% of the European average from 76% in 2019.”
Tsipras: “Public coffers are being filled by overtaxing the many; cartels are almost everywhere.”
Maximos: “Under Tsipras, everything was taxed and 30 taxes were increased, including VAT rates at the expense of the economically vulnerable, the Special Consumption Tax on fuel raised to the maximum limits allowed in Europe, and the burden on the middle class, small and medium-sized businesses, and professionals—all while Greece ranked last in growth among EU member states. Under Tsipras, the only tax that was reduced was on casinos, and cartels remained untouched. Under the Mitsotakis government, 83 taxes were reduced; public revenue comes from growth—which is double the EU average—and from combating tax evasion, while it is the only government to have imposed a special tax on energy, refineries, etc. »
Tsipras: “Sixteen years after the bankruptcy, we are once again ruled by those who sank us. And they are unrepentant.”
Maximos: “Mr. Tsipras is the truly unrepentant one; the only mistake he acknowledged was that he did not close the banks on the first day he took power in 2015. He bankrupted the country through negotiations with his ‘comrade’ Varoufakis, saddling Greek taxpayers with an unnecessary bailout package exceeding 120 billion euros.”
Tsipras: “Those who acquired homes through loans are now being asked to pay multiples of those amounts for the benefit of foreign funds.”
Maximos: “Under Tsipras, who promised debt relief, the funds took over the non-performing loans that exceeded 48% of total loans, electronic auctions were permitted even for primary residences, and a special law was enacted against those who obstruct them."
And the “war” has only just begun!