Guest on Mega’s morning news program “Society Hour Mega” this morning was the Press Spokesman of PASOK – Movement for Change, Kostas Tsoukalas.

Asked to comment on geopolitical developments in both the Middle East and Ukraine, as well as the role of Greece and Europe, Tsoukalas said that “both Europe and our country are in a quandary about the developments. There is a lack of a vision of foresight and strategy on major geopolitical issues. While the Greek government was talking to Mr. Fidan and had set the bar very high in the period before the meeting, it seems that Mr. Fidan was preparing for the fall of the Assad regime. This is something that neither Europe nor our country had foreseen and that is why we see a great deal of embarrassment. A new Europeanism is needed and in terms of our criticism of the government it does not mean that we find these issues easy but we believe that they should be more proactive.”

He adds: “Greece must exert pressure on Europe so that it, in turn, has a holistic approach to what is happening in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Eastern Mediterranean is a neighborhood in which we have interests, we have our European home, but we can also be the gateway to the Eastern Mediterranean. We have not taken care to make that clear, as we might well have done. We have strategic alliances with both Israel and Cyprus, there is no question of disagreement in this area.”

Continuing in the same tone, the Press Spokesman of PASOK – Movement for Change raised the issue of Egypt, recalling that “it is an allied country, We are witnessing an economic crisis and fears and therefore we must fortify ourselves so that we do not witness agreements along the lines of the illegal Turkish-Colibian Pact” and explained that “these situations require preparation and we must also look at ways to ensure the protection of the Orthodox world living in the Eastern Mediterranean. To become the voice of this world towards Europe.”

On the termination of the flow of Russian natural gas to Europe through Ukraine as of yesterday, January 1, 2025, Tsoukalas said that “the flow of Russia’s natural gas through Ukrainian territory was a 2019 contract and we know that it will end now. From 2022 Europe knew that it would not be renewed despite Russia’s pressure so there was the preparation that was needed.” “The characteristics that we should look for in an institution such as the President of the Republic are national unity, political stability, and the guarantee of institutional normality,” he clarified when asked about the traits that the person who will assume the Presidency of the Republic should have.

“We have talked about a strong tradition that exists in the country and was inaugurated by the late Andreas Papandreou in 1995 with Kostis Stephanopoulos and dictates that when a party governs, the President of the Republic should come from the “opposing” political party. In other words, it is customary when one of the two major factions governs that the President of the Hellenic Republic is chosen from the other faction to achieve political balance,” he added.

“Because this tradition has a positive imprint, we as PASOK – Movement for Change believe that the person proposed by the Prime Minister should come from the center-left. Of course, each person has its symbolic load and is evaluated autonomously. Of course, he or she must have the credibility to be able to play the role called for by the current circumstances. There may also be persons who do not belong to factions but who have the burden that is needed. PASOK – Movement for Change does not have a casual understanding of the institutions and the needs of the country and the Presidency of the Republic must have a unifying character. This means that we will not enter into games by refusing a proposal brought by New Democracy, even if it is a good one. But if the government brings a proposal that is narrowly partisan and tries to make its institutional deadlocks, obviously we will be against it,” he concluded.