Kasselakis: A result exceeding 20 percent of the vote is a feasible, or even 'quite probable' goal

Main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance could well see its share of the vote exceed 20 percent in the upcoming European Parliament elections, the party's president Stefanos Kasselakis said in an interview with MEGA TV on Thursday evening, shortly before his central election campaign speech in Syntagma Square in Athens.

Regarding his predecessor and former prime minister Alexis Tsipras, Kasselakis stressed that "Alexis is a flag for SYRIZA, it is his home. I can tell you definitively that he would be the last person to shut the door on SYRIZA-PA." 

Talking about the upcoming rally, Kasselakis expressed the opinion that the "number of people who turn out for such speeches is no longer important in this day and age." He cited the previous elections as an example, noting that even though SYRIZA brought more people to the speeches, "we suddenly saw a different result in the ballot box."

On the upcoming elections, he said that a result exceeding 20 percent of the vote "is a totally feasible if not quite probable goal".

Regarding the result he expects for ruling New Democracy (ND), he claimed that "it doesn't make that much difference if it is 29 or 30.1", because it will be seen that a party that got 41% in the general elections has suffered losses due to the revelations in the last months about the Tempi train crash and other issues.

Kasselakis spoke about his party's proposals for increasing spending on social security by raising the taxes on oligopolies. "There is a part of the private health sector, which should be able to be covered by public health, which will be a right. This is progressive politics. This is part of our philosophy. So is electricity. We do not agree to oligopolies in electricity. We want a 5% cap on profit in electricity, which doesn't even have a fiscal footprint. So this produces great growth, because it gives people a breather. We say the same about cartels in the banks, about the excess profits," he underlined.

He then lashed out at other left-leaning opposition parties, pointing out that "even these progressive parties, who call themselves 'progressive' or leftist," attack him instead of attacking the government's harsh neoliberal policies.

Asked about the criticism aimed at him over his past support for the prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, he said that "I believed that Mitsotakis would bring changes to the political scene of the country. And instead, it has brought the worst traditions of the right."

"The progressive centre has a place and the place is in SYRIZA, because we advocate open markets which are regulated. We support public goods," said Kasselakis.

Finally, for the day after the European elections, he expressed the opinion that SYRIZA has built a "movement", which is "growing every day". "I will continue what I am doing. They considered us finished and now you see that we are building and building and building," he concluded.