The announcement of the new Tsipras Party was – above all and above all – a communications “overproduction” .
“American” !
With all the relevant “recipe” : Open space , LED lighting , dense audience , the Acropolis in the background , careful stage presence , impeccable direction , real performance , touches of “tenderness” and “innocence” with the presence of small children and shots with young girls next to the smiling leader . All well set up, nothing spontaneous…
Stage-wise, impeccable – but in terms of inspiration , passion , improvisation , leadership , very few things…
And in terms of content ? Nothing !
“Seven commitments” were announced to us by Mr. Tsipras.
Generalities . Or rather empty talk . And unbearable platitudes …
Democratic Renaissance : Strengthening institutions, transparency, participatory democracy…
Welfare State : Reconstruction of the National Health System, Public Education, Labor Protection.
Economic Justice : Reducing Inequalities, tax relief for the middle classes, support for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Climate transition in a fair way : Green energy without social cost.
National Independence : Multidimensional Foreign Policy, sovereign rights.
Young Generation in the spotlight : Housing, work, rights for young people.
Culture and Identity : Support for Culture, connection with History and the future.
First observation :
These are NOT specific commitments . They are wish lists . They are NON-commitments to anything.
For example, what does “green transition without social cost” mean? The problem with the green transition is that it HAS unbearable social – and economic – costs !
Can it be addressed? YES ! But here cuts are needed: With fuel taxation, with fuel pricing ( Energy Exchange ), with the substitution of imported energy resources by domestic ones. Return to Lignite, etc.
But about all this – which has a cost and risk – we heard NOTHING !
What does “youth rights” mean?
Should they enter universities without exams?
But this will further degrade the – already degraded – degrees. And it will “inflate” them even more. So it will devalue them…
And it will create “opportunities” only for those who can afford to go to foreign private universities.
Young people need OPPORTUNITIES that they don’t have! That’s why they leave.
That is, development , competitiveness , productive restructuring , foreign investment – words we haven’t heard and concepts that don’t exist in the vocabulary of the Left…
In general, the declaration of the 7… NON-commitments is a general bubble that everyone agrees with, everyone can sign it – at no cost because it actually says nothing and does not bind anyone .
It reminds me of that old one:
It’s better to be young, beautiful and healthy – than old, poor and ugly .
We all know it – we all agree, but it doesn’t tell us anything .
Politics begins from the moment you start proposing what you intend to do and what to sacrifice . What do you prioritize …
When you propose “nice things” that are accepted by everyone, you create a “shiny wrapper” .
For the packaging to have content , you have to propose things that have trade-offs – “opportunity cost” as economists call it: What will I sacrifice temporarily? What will I risk immediately to avoid a greater risk later.
There is not the slightest sense here of what he will do . Except for who he is trying to reach , to entice to win: the middle classes, the small and middle classes, the young, the leftists of Ecology and Culture, but in moderation (not abruptly and tearing a pair of tights)…
- I remember the first two years of the junta, my family had a hard time. It was a time of great economic hardship . Our mother took care to decorate a magnificent tree at Christmas, just like in previous years (of relative prosperity) with ornaments that she had saved from last year and the year before, adding the traditional Christmas gifts under the tree. Which, however, were now much more “cheap” …
Because the family budget no longer allowed for “luxuries.” But our mother made sure to “wrap” them in fluffy wrappings and elaborate bows. And we had the illusion that we were living the holidays in splendor – and not in misery .
When we later overcame these difficulties, we grew up too, and I reminded my father of the difficult Christmases with the fancy wrappings – he was the one who replied:
— When you have something that’s truly valuable, you don’t need gimmicks to “sell” it. You need gimmicks to fool yourself or others when there’s nothing inside .
The Parthenon was built in the Doric style , not the Corinthian style.
This world monument of aesthetics in simple Doric columns – not in elaborate plumed columns.
When you have the “golden mean” as a basis, what do you need for the frills ? - In the case of the #Tsipras Party announcement, the direction and performance were 9/10 – and the content was a little less than 1/10 .
The image war probably won.
The narrative war didn’t even come close… - Ultimately, the most important thing that remained from what he said was… the name of the new Party : In full: Greek Left Coalition . It couldn’t be more flat …
But the initials are indeed euphemistic: E.L.A.S. !
Here the association directly refers to the ELAS of the Occupation , the resistance army that the KKE had created at the time…
And of course not in the Hellenic Police (EL.AS) which still exists today…
The #ELAS of the Occupation is in the “iconostasis” of the left – and the anathema of all the rest – because after the liberation it was transformed into a Democratic Army and was defeated during the Civil War . Which was carried out by “centrist governments” for the most part – let’s not forget this…
On the contrary, the current Greek Police is under the curse of young leftists – as a “repressive force” .
— In any case, the name ELAS remained as an attempt to appropriate the national element with which SYRIZA traditionally did NOT do very well.
— On the other hand, there were some who argued that until now Mr. Tsipras had appeared to be making an opening to the Center …
With symbolic references to the ELAS tradition , this is probably thwarted.
— Others still observe that Mr. Tsipras is trying to place himself in second place against Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ New Democracy – and the name ELAS against Mitsotakis seems “catchy” …
All of these may be true. As may their… opposites.
The truth is that Kyriakos wants Tsipras as his main opponent . Not simply because he considers him an easy opponent, but because society remains united against SYRIZA and everything he represented…
And ND had increased percentages, while SYRIZA appeared in second place – and a possible contender for first place. So broader forces were rallying around ND so that SYRIZA and Mr. Tsipras would not come out again. And this lasted until 2023…
From the moment SYRIZA shrank, was defeated and dissolved – under the leadership of Mr. Tsipras, in fact – it ceased to function as a “persuasive scaremonger” that rallies forces around ND.
Tsipras has achieved the impossible: He is the only political leader who has been weakened and dissolved in the… opposition ! And he has ceased to be a “threat” for their opponents – apart from the fact that he no longer inspires even his followers . No matter what he says today. Let alone that he no longer says anything … - And he says nothing , because in reality he serves the same policy !
— I’m hitting the mark today, which means I’m reducing VAT ! And energy taxes . But Tsipras raised VAT to 24% on many goods – under memoranda – and Kyriakos maintained it after the memoranda.
— Kyriakos started the over-taxation of Energy and the Energy Exchange after 2019 because this was imposed by the hard line of the Greens in Europe. And Tsipras has no objection to the green transition . He also identifies with the chimeras of the environmentalists .
— Tsipras started Greece’s unconditional concessions in the name of “Mobility” with the Prespes – and Kyriakos continued it by attempting the Prespes of the Aegean .
In general, both represent a model of Brussels’ policy on autopilot . And especially at a time when Brussels’ policy is also facing increasingly serious internal challenges (in Germany, France, Spain, etc., forces are constantly rising that challenge it), while it is now in open conflict with Washington.
Both represent the same Politics . That is why Mr. Tsipras cannot say anything more tangible , more substantial , more bold – and he plays with the ghosts of the old Left and the chimeras of the new woke Left, trying to forget his own sins . Because of which he has already renounced his old party itself.
— What should Tsipras say about Tempi , when the tragedy in Mati is haunting him?
— What can the judge say about Kyriakos’ “manipulation of Justice” , when he himself is being hunted by the Novartis conspiracy (which Kyriakos later helped cover up)?
What representation gap can Tsipras fill, since in order to reappear he was forced to delete his entire party and one by one the collaborators that he himself chose and promoted in his government?
Mr. Tsipras’ ELAS is “catchy” , but it won’t go far …
He may aspire to do what Andreas Papandreou did in 1974 , when he broke away from his father’s old party (the Centre Union), repositioned himself, and within 7 years dominated the political scene.
— But first, Tsipras is not Andreas .
— Secondly, Andreas shifted further left when the Center-Left was rising internationally. Today, societies are moving to more conservative positions . And Mr. Tsipras cannot keep up with them.
— Thirdly, Andreas Papandreou and Konstantinos Karamanlis, no matter how many differences they had between them, had one thing in common: They had an autonomous policy in relation to foreign centers . Tsipras – like Kyriakos – have no inclination to differentiate themselves in the slightest. And no ability.
— And finally, 2026 is not 1974. Then the cycle of the Metapolitesis opened. Now it is closing .
And the best thing Mr. Tsipras can do is reminisce and yearn for the “more heroic times of the post-revolutionary period” . But where does it end …
And so he makes something that resembles… cotton candy .
From the festivals of our childhood. Do you remember?
It was spectacular and easy to digest .
But just… air ! Knocking .
Villages where if you eat too much, it spoils you …
THANASSIS K.
