“We have heard quite a few condemnations. What we do not see is the necessary political isolation of such phenomena from all sides without exception and from all parliamentary parties without exception. There were earlier statements indicative of this climate, from Mr. Tsipras when he was prime minister: ‘so, what happened with the Molotovs’. So here is what can happen with Molotovs”.
These were emphasized by the vice president of the government, Kostis Hatzidakis, in an interview today on Ertnews radio 105,8, referring to the murderous attack against New Democracy officials yesterday in Thessaloniki.
“If what happened in Thessaloniki, with a man losing his life, had happened after an attack by the far right, we all - quite rightly - would have exploded, we would have been absolutely condemnatory and I am sure that for many days the issue would have been number one in all the media. I am not at all sure that this will be the climate in this particular case. Because the attack was carried out by the far left and I fear that certain political parties have double standards in these cases,” said Kostis Hatzidakis. “If there had been an occupation in the refugee housing by far-right forces, would it have been tolerated? Even more so, would there perhaps be parties in Parliament that would support this occupation? Can the operation of Rouvikonas be tolerated with the excuse ‘it doesn’t matter, they are left-wing activists?”, he wondered.
“It is not possible,” he added, “to make distinctions regarding violence, whether it is far-right or far-left. There has been uninterrupted functioning of our Democracy since 1974 onward. Whatever happened 50, 70, 80 years ago cannot be an excuse for someone to follow such practices that ultimately kill people,” the vice president of the government noted.
He also stressed that extreme statements by the opposition function as communicating vessels with such attacks. “There are opposition parties in Parliament, I have experienced it personally as well, that call the government a ‘criminal organization’ on the way up, and a ‘camorra’ on the way down. These things are not serious, they obviously do not honor the parties that have such rhetoric, but they are also not indicative of a modern, democratic, European state. They are signs of backwardness”.
Referring to yesterday’s announcements about OPEKEPE and the progress in the payment of agricultural subsidies, Kostis Hatzidakis said that the new application for the payment of subsidies, which will be presented in July, will be largely pre-filled as the relevant state records have been interconnected. “The new declaration will also contribute to bypassing various intermediaries that existed throughout all the past years for the submission of declarations. So that the system is transparent, simple, modern and signals the transition to a new era in the payment of agricultural subsidies”.
“With the transition from OPEKEPE to AADE, not only is transparency in the payment of resources ensured,” Kostis Hatzidakis noted. “From now on, the system has begun to operate in favor of the real producers. We have a combination of modernization of the system with a social orientation. Last year, with the checks carried out in the context of implementing the new, hybrid system for paying aid, 160 million euros were saved. This money is being given this year additionally to real producers. It went to livestock breeders, wheat producers and cotton producers, who saw their subsidies increase”.
“When the system with electronic boluses for sheep and goats and satellite technologies is completed and fully implemented, there will be even greater support for real producers. The country will receive the same money, the real producers will receive more. This is the philosophy and the essence of this reform with the transition from OPEKEPE to AADE. And it is a pity that it was supported only by New Democracy,” he concluded.