For the first time ever the head of the Catholic Church will meet a leader of the radical Left. At the meeting, the agreed upon agenda focuses on the major issue of world peace and the need for initiatives taken to ward off war conflicts, the issue of migration especially after the humanitarian tragedies in the Mediterranean as well as the necessary actions for the protection of the environment
Arriva a Milano il tour elettorale di Alexis Tsipras, il leader di Syriza e candidato alla presidenza della Commissione europea con il Partito della Sinistra. Dopo il successo delle elezioni regionali e comunali in Grecia, Tsipras, che in Italia è sostenuto dall'Altra Europa, è sempre più convinto: "Alle europee i cittadini puniranno la politica di austerità" - ha detto ai microfoni di Fanpage.it sul treno che da Milano lo ha portato a Torino per il proseguo della campagna elettorale in Italia. Una battuta su Grillo: "Deve capire che per avere una proposta credibile è necessario fare delle alleanze sociali molto più vaste; esprimere la rabbia è importante ma non basta se non hai l'alternativa per dire come si dovrebbe governare un paese".
« La coalition honteuse Samaras-Venizelos en Grèce sera jugée par les électeurs aux élections européennes à venir dans un mois.» a prédit à Prague le 28 avril, le leader de SYRIZA (gauche radicale grecque) candidat de la gauche européenne à la présidence de la Commission. « Le 25 Mai, nous votons pour l’Europe et pour l’amélioration de nos vies », a-t-il ajouté.
Accompagné de Pierre Laurent, le secrétaire général du Parti Communiste Français, Alexis Tsipras a renconté les membres du KSCM, le Parti Communiste de Bohême et Moravie, avant de prononcer un discours à l’Université Charles de Prague et de répondre aux questions des étudiantEs. Le leader de la gauche européenne a dénoncé la politique austéritaire sur le continent européen ainsi que pointé du doigt le chômage et les coupes dans les budgets sociaux dans les pays de l’UE.
En s’y prenant avec véhémence au gouvernement grec, Tsipras s’est indigné : « Quel gouvernement européen peut aujourd’hui tolérer de compter trois millions de gens sans assurance santé, et 60% de la population qui ne va pas se soigner chez le docteur pour des raisons financières ? Et ajouter à cela 30% de chômage ! ». Et d’ajouter, « voilà les raisons pour lesquelles la Gauche Européenne peut créer la surprise lors des élections européennes. »
Tsipras a aussi critiqué vivement son rival Jean-Claude Juncker, Président de l’Eurogroupe de 2005 à 2013 et candidat conservateur du Parti Populaire Européen (PPE) à la Présidence de la Commission européenne. Le trentenaire grec repproche à l’ancien premier ministre du Luxembourg de vouloir se donner une bonne image auprès des peuples grec et chypriote. « Juncker pense vraiment que les Chypriotes ont une mémoire de poisson rouge pour avoir oublier la politique qu’il a menée comme Président de l’Eurogroupe, avec le soutien de la chancelière allemande Angela Merkel. Cette politique a conduit Chypre dans le gouffre économique. »
In this video, arte.tv profiles Alexis Tsipras, candidate on behalf of the European Left for President of the European Commission.
Journalists Vladimir Vasak and Adea Guillot join Tsipras in Athens and accompany him on the campaign trail in Brussels and Palermo ahead of the upcoming European elections on May 25.
“The shameful Samaras-Venizelos coalition government will be judged by voters in the upcoming European elections this May,” predicted Alexis Tsipras, the leader of SYRIZA and candidate on behalf of the European Left for President of the European Commission addressing supporters in Prague, noting,” on May 25th, we’re voting for Europe and for our lives.”
Joined on the campaign trail by Pierre Laurent, head of the PCF (France), Tsipras met with members of the KSČM, before speaking to students at Charles University, the largest and oldest university in Prague. Discussing the ills facing Greece--and in other parts of Europe affected by austerity policies, Tsipras spoke about unemployment and fewer social benefits, in addition to answering the students' questions.
Aiming sharp criticism at the Greek government, Tsipras questioned, “What European government would tolerate having 3 million uninsured—or 1/3 of the population, 6 out of 10 not going to the doctor due to financial reasons and 30% unemployment?” He continued, “It will be for these reasons that the Samaras-Venizelos government will be judged, and why the rise of the European Left will be the positive surprise of the coming elections.”
Tsipras also critized Jean Claude Juncker, President of the Eurogroup from 2005-2013 and candidate of the EPP for president of the European Commission, regarding his statements on Cyprus and his attempts to present a positive image of himself to the Greek and Cypriot people. According to Tsipras, “Juncker must believe that the Cypriots must have the memory of goldfish to have already forgotten his actions in Eurogroup and the policies of his ally, Mrs. Merkel, that threw Cyprus to the wolves.”
Juncker systematically pushed Cyprus into the hands of its lenders, insisting that a “haircut” for account holders in Cyprus was unavoidable. “Now he wants to present himself as Cyprus’ protector,” stated Tsipras.
During a rally organized on April 26, 2014 by the Party of the European Left, with the support of the Left Bloc (Bloco de Esquerda), Marisa Matias said--referencing the Carnation Revolution, that "we need the energy of April in the May elections." The event, which took place at Cinema Batalha, Porto, included Catarina Martins-also of Left Bloc, and Alexis Tsipras, the leader of SYRIZA and candidate for President of the European Commission, who argued that "it is urgent to push back against the politics of Mrs. Merkel to recover Europe."
Tsipras and Matias, along with fellow Left Bloc leader João Semedo, met with Mário Soares, the former Prime Minister and President of Portugal, and important political personality. Discussing the need for a new path for Europe, Tsipras emphasized that, “the only way to stop the crisis is to end austerity and restore democracy in Europe."
"The situation has deteriorated, not only in Greece and Portugal, but also in Italy and Spain, and now we are facing a humanitarian crisis in our countries," said the candidate of the European Left for President the European Commission.
He continued, "European citizens must vote against the political forces that support austerity in our countries. A win for the Left in Greece—which would be an historic first—is likely to trigger a "domino effect in Europe."
A win could also spell movement on Tsipras’ call for a European debt conference: "There is no alternative but to try to renegotiate our debt together similarly to what occurred in London in 1953, where the debts of Germany after World War II were largely forgiven. This would not only be good for indebted countries, but for all of Europe and is the only realistic way out."
Mario Soares expressed confidence that SYRIZA would be the next government in Greece. In response to Tsipras stating, "We will need alliances," to put an end to the policies of austerity plagueing Europe, Mario Soares noted that, "You can count on me," and assured Tsipras, "We will do everything we can to this end."
Tsipras shared his message with the welcoming crowds at the Batalha Cinema, also in Porto. Paying tribute to the Carnation Revolution and the solidarity between Greece and Portugal, Tsipras called on all to support the Left in its quest to oust those who are responsible for the crisis, for the destruction of social cohesion and who implement austerity policies. Calling on all European citizens to vote in the upcoming European elections, Tsipras made clear that the elections are not simply about voting for a new group of MEP’s; "We’re voting for our lives and our future."
Alexis Tsipras, president of SYRIZA, spoke today at an event organized by the Alternative Left party of Galicia (AGE), in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain.
This was Tsipras' second stop, of three public meetings, in Portugal, Spain and the Czech Republic, as a candidate of the European Left for president of the European Commission.
In his speech, Tsipras raised the choices that voters face in the upcoming European ellections: “Austerity or Democracy; austerity or social cohesion; Europe of the people or that of the banks; Europe of the Left or that of Merkel."
Alexis Tsipras shared his perspective about the changes across Europe caused by the rise of the radical Left, which caused enthusiastic reactions from those in attendance.
The event took place at Pazo de Congresos de Compostela and the speakers included:
Lidia Senra, The Galician candidate of Alternativa Galega de Esquerda for the European elections
Alexis Tsipras, candidate of the European Left for President of the European Commission
Willy Meyer, candidate of Izquierda Unida in the European elections
Front de Gauche, the French alliance of the Left is kick starting its campaign for the European elections on Friday in Aubervilliers. In Renaudie venue, Alexis Tsipras, president of SYRIZA in Greece and candidate for the European Commission on behalf of the European Left party (GUE/NGL) will give an open speech at the opening of the campaign at 19:30.
Alexis Tsipras on Chanel Rai 3: We want to change the political balance of power in Europe with the Euro-Elections
“With these Euro-elections, we want to change the political balance of power in Europe” declared the leader of SYRIZA Alexis Tsipras, in an interview on Chanel Rai 3, the Italian public television chanel on the show “In mezz'ora” hosted by the journalist Loutsia Anountsiata.
Excerpts from an interview with Alexis Tsipras by the Italian Chanel RAI3:
I am well aware that in order for us to successfully make a major political change in Greece, and for that change to have positive results, we must change the political balance of power throughout all of Europe. We cannot achieve political change in just one country if the political balance of power in Europe is such that it does not accept this political change. As a result, the political party “The Other Europe with Tsipras” in Italy marks the widespread conviction of all the political forces that want a major political change in Europe, to change the political balance of power in the Euro-elections. In these elections, we are not only voting to elect some members of the European Parliament. In these elections, we are voting for our life. Our life depends on the balance of power in the European parliament. Our life depends upon the decisions that are made behind closed doors, for us. And we must create that balance of power. For the first time, European citizens in Greece, in Italy, in Portugal, in Spain, in all of Europe, hold their destiny in their own hands. We must not miss this opportunity. And I think that we must find our own answers. Austerity policy, the policy which destroys social cohesion, the policy which erodes democracy, is a policy which is leading Europe and the European people to a dead-end. The time has come to put an end to this policy.
I think that what has been happening over the past few months in Italy is really exciting. In fact, it is a big surprise. Two months ago, a small group of people began this project, which was quite daring on our part. Today, we have in fact become a large group. We have managed to gather over 150,000 signatures, which was the minimum requirement of, in my opinion, an unfair law which is in force in your country. Despite this, we overcame this stumbling block and we can see that the messages are very positive and that the “Other Europe” will be the surprise of the Euro-elections in Italy. Such a goal was not at all easy to achieve and did not appear very likely when we began this effort. And I would like to say that this exciting journey indicates that at this time, in these days, throughout all of this period, in Italy the citizens’ movements, the social Left, new forces which have emerged from this effort, contributed to a revolution of unity and unselfishness. This is how I would like to describe the effort. It was born out of a new Left, which is represented by young people, by grassroots movements. Of course it has a long tradition, which it brings with it, but it is creating a new identity. And this is the new identity that we want, a Left that has an alternative opinion about Europe, that is not satisfied with protest and that wants to govern in order to change the lives and the daily lives of millions of people who are suffering from this policy of strict austerity, from this barbaric policy that is destroying society.
I think that at this time in Europe, in the Euro-elections, there are three blocs of power. One bloc is dominant and within it the European right (EPP) and European social democrats (S&D) are working toward the same direction, despite their differences. I am not saying that they are the same, however their joint bottom line, is that they have no other choice than to implement this policy, this policy of austerity and of the erosion of democracy.
The second bloc is that of the populist right, which wants to destroy Europe. It wants to return to the nation state and in reality, it does not deal with the major problem of the economic policy of austerity, but instead blames the immigrants and the weaker members of society.
The third bloc is the one that we want to create, the bloc for a different Europe. We want to change Europe, we do not want to destroy it. And we believe that we are more Euro-friendly than the dominant forces today, which in fact are indifferent as to whether this Europe reaches a dead-end and is destroyed.
The new Prime Minister of Italy, whom I have been observing with great interest, has demonstrated a kind of activity, primarily in promoting different types of policies with regard to taxation. However, at its core, at the neo-liberal core of the policy that is being implemented today, which has to do with labor relations and the welfare state, it appears to be adopting a hard line neo-liberal point of view. I believe that this cannot be the answer to the hegemony of Chancellor Merkel, a policy that is even more right wing than that which is implemented by Merkel. The real answer to the hegemony of Chancellor Merkel is to return to the founding principles of Europe, to a Europe of the people, with social cohesion, solidarity and democracy. Our future, our prospects, cannot be unemployment rates like those that we now have in Greece (of 30% overall and 60% among the youth), the huge segment of uninsured workers, or insistence on laws that destroy the rights of labor today in Europe and that lead us to uncertainty, to part time work. We saw the results of these choices during the Tony Blair period in Great Britain. The so-called “Third Way” led nowhere. The reduction of labor costs does not help to make the economy more competitive. If this were so, the most competitive economy in the world would be Bangladesh. However, this is not the case. We must return to the basic principles that define the European Union, which are solidarity, democracy and social cohesion. And in order to do so, we need broad social alliances and great success of our proposal so as to draw the social democrats back to their historical course. They are now being transformed into neo-liberals. We must pull them away from the neo-liberal path that they have currently chosen.
We believe that Europe is the battle field of political and class struggle. For us, Europe has no geographical borders, but it has social borders and we want to transcend these. Two years ago, it was with great interest that we observed the great electoral victory of the Bebe Grillo movement. And we felt very positive about it because it was the outcome of the frustration of the Italian people. However, frustration and rage are not sufficient, it is also necessary to have an alternative proposal. And primarily, today one must see that this alternative proposal cannot be contained by national borders. We are living in a United Europe, decisions are made – which may be good or bad – in the European Parliament – and even worse, in the Summit Meetings of leaders who ignore the democracy of the European Parliament. If we wish therefore, to change something in our own lives, we must fight for this within Europe. I have the feeling that Bebe Grillo ignores this fact, he pretends not to understand it. He is indifferent to the future of Europe. To the question of “which Europe, alliances with whom?”, we answer “the Europe of solidarity with alliances wherever the progressive forces and the Left overcome the conservative and neo-liberal forces. To that same question, Bebe Grilo might well answer “I don’t care, let it be whoever wants these alliances, I will change the reality in Italy”. Unfortunately, things are not so simple; you cannot change things in only one country.
It is for this reason what we are doing in Italy is even more symbolic, even more important. I believe that tomorrow, when SYRIZA governs in Greece, since SYRIZA will be the government in Greece, the first thing that we will attempt will be a broader alliance of social and political forces in Europe and in Southern Europe. And then, for us to succeed in Greece, we will need an agreement, the consent and the social support from Italy, Spain and Portugal in order to escape collectively from this dead-end of austerity. We need a broad alliance against the alliance of capital, and the alliance of the bankers who take decisions that make our lives more and more sad.
When the newspaper Der Spiegel characterized me as the most dangerous person in Europe, it was an honor because in reality, this confirmed that our political proposal is extremely dangerous for the political plan that is being implemented today in Europe, a plan that wants to create in the European periphery, an economic zone of poverty with salaries of 300-400 Euros, a zone of flexible work, unemployment and insecurity. It is with regard to this plan that we want to be dangerous, we want to destroy this plan. Indeed, it is a title of honor to be called dangerous with regard to the plan of the bankers, of large capital and the plan of the EU to be transformed into the German Union. I believe that the most dangerous politician in Europe today for the people, not for the banks, is Chancellor Merkel. And we must realize that right now in Europe, two points of view, two powers are juxtaposed. Those powers that make up the European Popular Right headed by Chancellor Merkel, either assist in her in her plan – and Mr. Renzi assists in this plan when he agrees that we must go along with the line of fiscal stability, of austerity – and on the other side is our own alternative plan. This is why we are calling on the Italians and the Greeks, and all the Europeans to decide about the dilemma of the Euro-elections: Has this policy of Chancellor Merkel succeeded today? If it has succeeded, let us vote for Juncker and Schulz. Let us vote in Italy for the list of Renzi or the list of the Italian right. If however, it has not succeeded, then we must vote and support the alternative proposal. And the alternative proposal is the “Other Europe” which is supported by the forces of the real Left.
The authoritarian reforms of Mr. Renzi go well with the main choices of the EU and the European elite. These authoritarian choices are not only being made in Italy. These are choices which we have experienced in Greece over the past four years. There will be a terrifying social leveling, with the memorandum of austerity, of which the first victim was democracy itself. Our constitutions, which were adopted through processes that brought the people to the forefront, are democratic constitutions that protect society, the people. And those constitutions constitute obstacles to the counter-reforms that are now being promoted by the neo-liberal forces in Europe. In this regard, I think that we must support the basic founding principles of both the European Union as well as the basic constitutional principles. Therefore we must promote social and political rights and democracy. And I believe that under different circumstances this should not just be the work of the Left. For this reason, in this electoral battle, we not only call upon the Left to vote for us, but also the millions of citizens who feel that they are being crushed by these choices, either at an economic level, or at the level of political rights and freedoms.
Alexis Tsipras delivered a speech at a crowded venue in Palermo, Italy where various members of the political parties of the Left, representatives of the trade unions of FIAT and FIOM, MEP Rita Borsellino-Democratic Party (sister of late judge Paolo Borsellino, killed by a Mafia car bomb in 1992) and members of the public of all the ages shared their enthusiasm for the Greek leader of SYRIZA and candidate for the presidency of the European Commission. Tsipras addressed the audience after an introduction by Marco Reveli, where the well-known Italian intellectual stated that, “Greece is the tragic outcome of the European austerity policies, but at the same time, is a brilliant paradigm for the Left. SYRIZA overcame the fragmentation and marginalization of the Left, and in a short period of time will be the first truly Left government in Europe.”
Alexis Tsipras, candidate for the presidency of the European Commission on behalf of the European Left, said that SYRIZA’s electoral victory will be emblematic for all European countries, heralding the beginning of the end of the austerity-era in Europe. “In the upcoming elections, we vote for Europe, for our societies, for our own lives,” Tsipras declared, emphasizing the significance of the May elections.
According to Tsipras, the European Left is the only political party that places high importance on the need for an alternative plan to the EU's current mode of governance, and highlighted that the May elections are crucial because the results will define Europe’s future. He continued, “We are struggling for the ‘realistic utopia’, not only for the prospect of the left governance, but also for the project of the left hegemony.”
The real dilemma of the Parliamentary elections, according to Tsipras is, “What will be decided is whether Europe will continue to regress under the neoliberal management of crisis, or will flourish again with new policies.”
Referencing the recent drowning tragedies in the Mediterranean, Tsipras called for changes in European migration policy: “Europe cannot afford any other ‘Lampedusa’. Europe cannot take another ‘Farmakonisi’. It is a shame that the Mediterranean has become a cemetery of immigrants”.
Tsipras also made mention of the phenomenon of right-wing extremism, noting that it is inherent element of the current political establishment. Using Greece as an example to prove his point, Tsipras cited that the far-right “closely co-operates with the establishment, as it was revealed in Greece, where the secret communication between Samaras' government and the neo-Nazis of the Golden Dawn was recently exposed. The far-right serves as the long arm of neoliberalism. The supporters of the far-right don’t oppose the system that produces the inequality, but instead choose to target immigrants."
