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Anastasia Balezdrova
 

Three years after the signing of the first Memorandum of economic assistance, Greece’s political life is still filled with the rhetoric of "for" and "against" the memorandum. Under the pressure of the supervisory Troika and especially of its forthcoming visit in June, which will determine whether the country will receive the next life-saving tranche, the government has been forced to lay off the first state employees. However, the reforms have been slow and now, it is no secret that this is due to the lack of political will.

At the same time, as the Vice-President of the Drassi party, Antigone Lyberaki, states, "no one is saying what will happen after the memorandum. It seems as if the parties want to leave the country on autopilot. This would be a huge mistake. It is precisely this autopilot that has brought the Troika and the memorandum to Greece."

At this time last year, Drassi took part in the elections with the slogan "Citizens, not customers." The party failed to enter parliament, but its beliefs that despite its twisting, the government will be forced to cut the public sector, have proved true.

"We are close to the end of a difficult and painful process. It has caused fatigue and pessimism in people. Therefore, we believe that we are in a very critical phase and the need for intervention is very high."

According to Antigone Lyberaki, Drassi is a small party, which, however, communicates with a vast majority of society. "These are people who belong to other political spaces or do not belong to any political space and who are tired of the government's stalling, which continues to "squeeze" the private sector at the expense of the public one."

Therefore, Drassi appeals to all those people who have different ideas, whether they belong to any party, company or whether they are the only people with these ideas in their circle, to unite with others who share the same ideas.

"We are determined to row against the tide. And not only that – we make a noise to attract public attention. Politicians must show more sincerity. This practice to speak in double, triple or quadruple language should stop," she added.

During the congress of Drassi in December last year, the opening of the party to all reformist forces was launched. This process hasn’t finished yet but reformers from all areas, including the left wing and the movement of environmentalists, have joined Drassi within its context.

"This period is a period of restructuring. Everything is changing and new trends are being formed. Extremes are becoming stronger in such periods but they can never find a solution to the problems. I have decided to join and broadcast the fact that there are forces that can take the country out of the crisis," said Pantelis Mitsiou, a supporter of left-wing ideas.

"The main purpose of the ruling parties is still serving partisan interests. The fate of the country remains in the background for them. So far, the forces of nationalism and populism have dominated; we need a serious political dialogue about what Greece should be after the memoranda or what we want it to be," said commentator Yiannis Koutsomitis, who has also joined the call of the reformers.
 
"Our goal is to be ready to establish a broad reformist front in September."

In relation to the possibilities of forming a coalition with other parties, Antigone Lyberaki stresses that Drassi insists on sealing an agreement with its future partners before that. "We do not believe in coalitions that are not supported by consent. There has been progress from December, when we started the discussions, to date and I hope that the result of them will be palpable in the coming months."

Member of European Parliament Theodoros Skylakakis, who is a member of the central committee of Drassi, attended the press conference as well.
 
The press conference was organized in conjunction with the upcoming congress of Drassi on 25 and 26 May. The party is calling everyone "who believes that the future of Greece is in Europe and has confidence in the potential of society" to participate in it and express his or her opinion.

Discussions on various topics, including on social networks, will be organized until then.