THESSALONIKI – SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance leader Alexis Tsipras began an address on Monday evening by expressing his condolences to families of earthquake victims in Türkiye and Syria, speaking at the ‘Ivanofeios’ sports arena in Thessaloniki.

The main opposition party leader, who is touring Greek cities on his pre-electoral campaign, asserted that “the time to effect political change has come.”

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ government, Tsipras said, is one of “inequalities and injustices, wiretappings and corruption, a government of price hikes and democratic aberration.” The time has come for this government to give an account to the Greek people, he underlined.

Tsipras accused Mitsotakis of “systematically violating the constitution and the rules of democracy to install his own regime.” His policy aims to “control and blackmail not only his opponents but also people close to him – even the chief of the country’s armed forces,” the main opposition leader claimed, referring to the wiretapping issue.

The premier’s reasoning focuses entirely on being able to “implement the most unjust, absurd, and outrageous redistribution of wealth and income, by taking from the vulnerable and the middle class to (give to) those who support him and whom he supports – the few powerful elites.”

In reference to price hikes in food and in energy, Tsipras said that Mitsotakis’ ministers “pretend to support the consumer, when in fact even these state subsidies go to support their favored ones, who insist on keeping prices high, or even raising them even further.” This, he asserted, is Mitsotakis’ despicable plan.