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Anastasia Balezdrova

"The world has long ceased to be Europe and the U.S. Many other strong players have appeared on the world stage and therefore, the European Union must resolve its internal problems and change in order to be their equivalent partner," thus professor of economics Antigone Lyberaki summarized the position of the Greek liberals from Drassi party on the future of the European Union, which "is close to the big step of achieving a closer consolidation and further democratizing the processes inside it."

In 10 one-minute black-and-white videos, she presented her candidacy for the upcoming elections for the new composition of the European Parliament. "We, from Drassi, are for the entering into a banking union in Europe and we openly support the idea of ​​federalization of the continent," she said. She also presented the reasons for the position of the liberals, "Firstly, this is in order to avoid the probability of citizens paying for the damage due to the poor management of the banking sector in the future and secondly, because every company in Europe, regardless of how big or small it is, must have access to liquidity."

According to Antigone Lyberaki, the major problem across Europe, namely unemployment, can only be solved by removing all obstacles to private business. "We must raise onto its feet the private economy that produces wealth and creates jobs. All other sectors only consume or recycle this wealth. There is no more social position than the one calling, ‘Help business to start functioning to improve the lives of all of us’." She pointed out that at the European level it is necessary to transfer resources from richer to poorer economic countries in order to give impetus to their economies.

Antigone Lyberaki criticized the Greek political scene that a month and a half before the European elections, the debates do not yet refer to topics related to the European Union as a whole. She firmly reprehended the government for the total lack of responsibility. "For as long as no one assumes responsibility for what happened in Greece nothing will change here. It is amazing how the main culprits for the crisis talk about it as if it is a natural disaster. If we do not change we will find ourselves in the same negative position very soon," said Lyberaki, adding that the Greek political system deliberately misleads the public into believing that the crisis is over and the problems will soon start to disappear. "Saying that Greece will almost return to what it was before 2010 is a blatant lie. Even if someone resolves all problems with a magic wand, we will soon be faced with the same problems if we do not change the government structure and the economy. Profound changes are needed."

Commenting on whether the Drassi party is concerned by the appearance of the new "To potami" party of journalist Stavros Theodorakis, which is the third or fourth political force according to various polls, Antigone Lyberaki indicated, "When someone copies your ideas then you are on the right track. I wish that they could be able to prove that they believe in them."

She added that she has two remarks regarding the party, "One is that there is no an economist among its participants announced so far and the second is the ambiguity as to which parliamentary group in the European Parliament it will join if it has an elected representative there."

Antigone Lyberaki said she aims to spread Drassi positions, which are not very popular in Greece, through social media and personal contacts with citizens, relying on years of experience as an activist.

Here are some interesting facts about her political biography:

- In her school years, she was a member of the left organization "Rigas Ferraios" and after being admitted to university, she was involved in the youth organization of the Communist Party of Greece. She remained a member thereof despite the refusal of the party to approve her request to continue studying and obtain a Masters Degree in East Berlin in 1982 due to "class reasons." In 1989, she joined the coalition of the left-winged Synaspismos and remained there after the withdrawal of the Communist Party from it. Gradually, however, she reduced her participation and since 1996, she has not been involved in the discussions of Synaspismos.

- She actively participates in the Greek feminist movement and is a member of the ActionAid organization that supports the residents of third world countries.

- After the first election race in May 2012, she became a member of the liberal Drassi party and a little later, she was elected vice-president of the party, occupying the post to date. Asked how she is a liberal today after being part of the left wing in her youth, Antigone Lyberaki replies, "Man fights for ideas. Then I thought that one had to be left-winged to fight for the rights of the poor. However, I realized that this is not so and that many members of the left wing actually use the weak to secure privileges for themselves."

An interesting fact in her biography is that she is the niece of former Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis and great-granddaughter of one of the most important Greek politicians, Eleftherios Venizelos.