Tsipras: PASOK handed the change to the Troika

"We are not here to reminisce or to try to appropriate a declaration of principles that was not the story of our Left, although the declaration of September 3 draws from the ideological, programmatic and fighting inventory of the historic Left, EAM and EDA," Alexis Tsipras stressed during his speech in Nikaia.

Once again he spoke of "the establishment of the great democratic party of the Left that will rule the country and stop the looting of our people."
 
He talked about "cancellation of the memorandum and replacing it with a national plan for development and productive reconstruction."

Referring to the declaration he said: "Strange as it may seem today, PASOK has also highlighted the timeliness of September 3. Not because they left it. This is its own, internal business. But because they handed their political child, the change of October 18 '81, as loot to the Troika of our lenders."

He launched an attack on George Papandreou and Evangelos Venizelos’ PASOK because it targets and methodically tears up one by one all the social conquests of the Greek people in the 80s.

Tsipras talked about business cycles that dealt with the crisis as an opportunity and the memorandum as a gift from God to overturn labor relations in order to take charge of State property. He said that the same business cycles gave a furious battle in favor of Samaras to prevent SYRIZA’s rise to power on June 17.

Speaking about Evangelos Venizelos he said that he is "the perpetrator of the memorandum. I wonder with you today, which of the two is wrong? The Left and the honest socialist fighters discussing the declaration of September 3rd, or PASOK of Mr. Venizelos and his gang trying to link September 3rd with the memorandum?"

During his speech he read the following excerpt from the declaration of September 3rd: "The road to servitude, the undermining of our national interests, the erosion of our national sovereignty, the economic stagnation and exploitation of Greek workers must be stopped. Instead, we must move forward with courage and determination towards building a new Greece."

He said the time has come for the Left to assess the contribution of the PASOK of '74 and September 3rd without the complexes and oversimplifications of the past.

His attack against the PASOK of the last years was fierce. He described "the PASOK we met in recent years" as the PASOK of corrupt modernization, privatizations and the Stock Market, Siemens and servitude to the major interests. Tsipras clarified that SYRIZA is not the new PASOK nor does it want to be.

He also said that SYRIZA will react to the creation of special economic zones.