The talented Mr. Kasselakis – Tsipras asked for pay cuts, layoffs when it was dangerous

Stefanos Kasselakis’ old articles were “discovered” from the archives of “Ethnikos Kyrykas” in the Editors newspaper, in fact, the current president of SYRIZA allegedly signed “Aristotelis Oikonomou”.

In his articles, the then-young Kassalakis appeared in favor of low wages in Greece, saying he considered laying off 15,000 civil servants in favor of private universities to stimulate the economy’s competitiveness. The era of memoirs forced few.

Read the most characteristic passages from Efsyn’s article:

“We found dozens of texts by Stephanos Kassalakis, who refutes his critics as an ‘irrelevant’ who has no political connection or knows nothing about economics. These texts show admirable unity and a clear political structure. The only problem is that they have nothing to do with the left,” he said. mentioned.

“Young and Neoliberal”

From his first writings, Stefanos Kasselakis, as a student, appeared staunchly right-wing and neoliberal, pro-business and anti-labour. In his article we read: “Salaries in Greece are lower than the counterparts of the first gear in Europe, however, if we can strengthen the competitiveness of Greek companies abroad or foreign companies, it will be good in the short term. Greece” (7.7.2007).

From that distant time, Stefanos Kasselakis argues for private universities: “Our main comparative advantage is [είναι η] Education. This and this reason alone is enough to allow private Greek universities.” And he supported ND. To the “hesitant” PASOK: “In my opinion, PASOK wants to be considered a progressive party of the people, while ND is against educational reforms. It will open doors to students and Greek businesses of all socio-economic strata”.

Especially for universities, Mr. The only opportunity Kassalakis saw was privatisation: “Does anyone deny that any private university established after the amendment of Article 16 will put more emphasis on their facilities?” (9.3.2007). To his rival student groups and the university lobby: “No, it’s not the students’ lack of pride. This pride belongs to the student party ranks, this pride belongs to a timeless refuge.

On each occasion he repeated the same thing: “What he didn’t say [ο Γιώργος Παπανδρέου] He is responsible for the situation that prevailed at the time of his election […] Don’t support private universities. If he has the political courage to support the change he initially agreed to, students will again “eat” the tree from MAT, but at least the education situation will be seriously tested and changed.”

On each occasion he expressed his sorrow for student and worker mobilizations in Greece: “What should I think when my closest friends in Greece cannot study even if they want to because of occupations and strikes?”. And, of course next to these: “In a developed country like Greece it is unbelievable that the Communist Party got 8.1% of the vote” (27.9.2007).

Like the student Kasselakis, a few years later Kasselakis, a businessman, called him “Aristotle the Economist.” From the early years of the crisis, his main focus was again on private education and the middle class: “I learned that there have been large losses in the enrollment of students (now attending public schools) in many popular private schools in Athens. This shows me that the middle class in Greece is in a very difficult position” (31.12.2011).

“Burning of Government Servants”

More seriously, when the coalition government of Papadimos (ND-PASOK-LAOS) sacked civil servants, Stefanos Kasselakis disagreed, as he considered the number of sacked to be small: “15,000 people decided to fire. State 2012 they are much less. In my opinion, they should have already laid off a lot of people and put the money into tax cuts.

As is known, these dismissals were requested and handled by Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The same extreme neoliberal reflexes, Mr. It was demonstrated by Kassalakis: “Many people also commented on the reduction of the minimum wage. This is another important issue with human aspects, and of course many people rely on such salaries. Nevertheless, this drastic measure should be considered positive, because it makes the country more competitive and at the same time keeps small companies alive” (18.2 .2012).

Mr. Kassalakis had no difficulty, and he dreamed of a country run like a business: “How is it possible for companies to make impressive profits when economic growth is not consistent? ? This is possible because businesses have found new ways to reorganize, new sources of productivity and new markets abroad. If only Greece were managed like a business.” ..” (21.4.2012).

The so-called “Tsipras” danger

During the critical period of the 2012 elections, Mr. Kassalakis expressed confidence that ND would win. And he considered PASOK Syriza’s dominance a disaster. A Scientific View of Imagination” (19.5.2012).

Before the second elections in 2012, Mr. Kasselakis mentions Alexis Tsipras for the first time, accepting all the danger scenarios of the right: “Alexis Tsipras became an international figure on the same day as the chances of Greece leaving the Euro climbed. Towards 50 and 75%. […] The current polarization in our country will lead to a two-party coalition government. If this government ends up between Syriza and another left-wing party, I imagine the markets will react very negatively to growth (despite the talk of staying in the euro without austerity promoted by the party leadership). It is truly unprecedented that 1 or 2% of Greek voters can influence international markets so decisively” (2.6.2012).

The dominance of the ND is viewed with relief: “The elections in Greece finally produced a centrist government with a European orientation. Alexis Tsipras will no longer be on the front pages of international newspapers, and European leaders in Brussels will feel as if they are talking to the Greek government from the old, normal times” (23.6.2012).

Before the second election in 2015, Mr. Kassalakis expects a coalition between Tsipras and the right: “Mr. Kassalakis”, writes “Ethnikos Kriks”, “thinks that Mr. Tsipras is more likely to win, but he doubts that he will win. Crossing 30% and Mr. Tsipras now Regardless, ND-SYRIZA thinks there is a 90% chance of a coalition government. ‘I don’t think he’s against 180° turns,’ notes Mr. Kassalakis” (10.9.2015).