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Anastasia Balezdrova

"We try to do everything in a different way," said journalist Stavros Theodorakis last week, at the beginning of the most anticipated press conference in Athens. He presented the new political formation "To potami" ("The river" – author’s note), which, at least so far, has formed no party bodies from the people who compose it. Among them are writer Nikos Dimou, a few journalists like Thassos Teloglou, university teachers like Nikos Marandzidis, Stavros Tsakirakis, Hagel Fleischer and Vasso Kindi, socially engaged individuals from different parts of Greece and representatives of cultural life.

The press conference was quite different from the usual order. Without the mandatory and common introductory speech, Stavros Theodorakis turned directly to his colleagues and their questions, his discomfort being apparent, at least at the beginning of the press conference.

He does not position "To potami" on the left or right side of the political spectrum, although he admits that since his youth he has described himself as a left-wing representative. He said that if the movement fails to appoint a representative in the European Parliament, he or she would not immediately join some parliamentary group, at least in the first months, before being familiar with its views.

According to Theodorakis, the problems of Greece and Europe should not be considered under the prism of party ideologies that were created decades ago but they should seek the best solution under today’s conditions.

"To potami" is "stealing" ideas from both the left wing and the liberal political space as stated by the journalist, adding that the purpose of the formation is not to change Greece’s course and history but to participate in coalitions that can do so.

Again, he did not name the parties with which "To potami" would cooperate in a potential coalition government but gave some notion of the possible partners by stating, "Surely we must share common ideas about democracy, the future of Europe and humanism."

In response to the media and social media comments that the movement is not political Theodorakis rejected the attacks by stating that "To potami" is the need of some people to seek solutions outside party stereotypes." He criticized the political parties which, according to him, bear the blame for the current situation of Greece, stating that it is not possible for them to pretend to solve the problems they themselves have created. "What we are trying to do is to enable ordinary citizens to express their position."

On the other hand and despite the motto "politics without politicians" Theodorakis does not exclude the possibility of the movement working with some existing politicians.

When asked if he supports or not the Memorandum of financial aid that Greece has signed with the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the European Central Bank, Theodorakis replied that since Greece had not been able to solve the problem of external debt alone, it was logical for it to be supported in some way. "We all know that Europe was not ready to deal with this problem but the important thing is not the content of the Memorandum but the wrong way in which the politicians have applied it. Greece cannot exist with loans. It is necessary to draw up a national plan to emerge from the crisis, which we will put into action after the Memorandum." In this regard, the journalist said it was necessary to create a stable business environment without constant changes in tax laws in order to attract foreign and Greek investment to trigger the Greek economy so that it can start producing.

He also expressed support for the introduction of changes in the Greek election system, the most important of which being the adoption of a law that would prohibit early elections on any occasion. "They should be held every four years, the number of deputies should be reduced and the electoral system should be mixed, after the example of Germany, in order for citizens to be able to elect candidates from different political spaces."

Theodorakis paid particular attention to the fact that Greece and Europe must take measures to support young people. He suggested a change in the Greek law that would remove the limit of 25 years of age and allow citizens to participate in elections at the age of 18."Free lunch at all schools and the creation of a system that will help them develop their abilities are two of the measures to support the youth in Europe," he said.

The journalist criticized the reluctance of civil servants to be assessed on the basis of their work. In parallel, he said that the public sector in the country is not excessive but works in a very bad manner. "This is an example of the poor implementation of the Memorandum. Decisions were taken for the mass closure of essential social services such as "Help at Home" while dozens of other totally unnecessary services still exist."

Stavros Theodorakis reiterated that he would not be the nomination of the movement for a Member of the European Parliament. He did not announce the names of the nominees and said he would do so a month before the European elections, together with all other parties. On Saturday, he will begin a campaign throughout Greece during which it is expected that the list of candidates will be completed . As GRReporter wrote a week ago, one of the nominations of "To potami" for a Member of the European Parliament is trade unionist Kostadinka Kuneva.