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You said the market needs liquidity to revive but this largely relates to the old consumption model in which the Greek economy developed. What is the plan of SYRIZA for the development of production and private initiative?
First, I would like to say that our goal is not to make everything public, but to allow public control over the decision-making by the government. In the philosophical sense of the state, we do not support the so-called solid state. The state in a broader sense can participate anywhere, but if controlled only by one government, it will end as Greece today, where 30 years of governing built a consumer, not a welfare state with good health and social services.
We want to drive social organizations to participate in building a new production model. To inspire a sense of control over the activities of the government .
Trade unions, chambers of commerce and similar institutions are public organizations and they already have an established role. Do you think that they will not be able to protect the rights of citizens, as they should?
Left trade unions have always played an active role. However, we criticized the trade unions when it was necessary. We believe that trade unions are necessary, but in recent years, they have failed to protect the interests of different groups of workers.
Do you agree with the opinion that trade unions are just as corrupt as the government mechanisms in Greece?
No, I cannot agree with this opinion. The political direction the trade unions took with the responsibility of both parties that governed until yesterday is wrong.
As the polls show, SYRIZA could form a government tomorrow. Are you not afraid that trade unions will stand against you?
That is why within SYRIZA’s mandate to form a government last week, Alexis Tsipras met with representatives of 25 major trade unions and social organizations. He discussed the programme of our party with them and explained what should be the priorities of a left government. I think trade unions will not counteract, if we take the power and try to restore collective labour agreements, which is the demand of labour organizations and is a part of our programme. They will not only be against the government but will stand right next to us.
I would like to get back to your question about the private initiative. We are not against it in any case, but there are several sectors of basic public services, over which we believe the state should have full control. They can be profitable, but their primary objective cannot be an increase in profits. The sectors I mean are healthcare, education, energy, telecommunications, transport and water management. We believe that the public sector should play a major role in these sectors using the methods of social control. The spread of the state is not a fetish - we do not want to nationalize news-stands, but there are sectors of services, which undoubtedly should be public.
The way the public health sector was managed, for example, was so vicious that it has got so far as to require disabled people to pay for a large part of the cost of drugs prescribed to them, these same life-saving drugs. We want transparency and this is one of the basic things in our programme.
Transparency is absolutely necessary, but good social policy costs money, right?
You see, in the last 30 years, the state could have spent state money and received contracts for goods and services detrimental to the Greek taxpayer. Moreover, nobody will be sued because Venizelos passed the law on responsibility of ministers, which helps to cancel the economic crimes of the political elite. You asked me where we would find money from - another example of waste spending is the cost of military equipment in Greece. It is impossible for such a small country to have such high costs for military equipment. It is impossible for Akis Tsohatsopoulos to be in jail for the illegal contracts with Ferrostaal, while they are still effective and have not yet been cancelled.