MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd July, 2019) The possible victory of Greece's opposition New Democracy (ND) party in the upcoming parliamentary elections will mainly entail internal policy changes, with the return to neoliberal economic approaches likely to "destroy the welfare state" and trigger a new financial crisis, Stelios Kouloglou, a European Parliament member from the ruling Syriza party, told Sputnik on Wednesday.
Noting that the ND party was ahead in the polls less than a week before the elections, Kouloglou shared his opinion on what the opposition victory would mean for the country. He, however, stressed that "European elections and national elections are two different things," expressing belief that Syriza would still remain one of the two main political forces in Greece.
"Changes [in case the opposition wins] will be mostly on the national level. In my view, [ND leader] Kyriakos Mitsotakis will implement a neoliberal program which will destroy the welfare state. What we fear is that we will see the repetition of 'Argentina story' [the Argentine financial crisis] where all the forces of the establishment led the country to the bankruptcy. Then the Left recovered the economy and settled the debt problem, and then the right came into power again starting implementing neoliberal policies which brought back the IMF [International Monetary Fund] in the country," Kouloglou said.
As for foreign policy, the lawmaker expressed belief that the ND would downplay its critical rhetoric with regard to the name change deal with Skopje and ultimately embrace it as the only way forward in relations with the neighboring country.
"In spite of Mitsotakis' demagogic and nationalist policy on the issue of the Prespa Agreement and its 'flirt' with the far right, we actually believe that Mitsotakis will implement the Prespa Agreement, not only because it is the best deal that could exist for Greece, but also because he cannot do otherwise," he pointed out.
Returning to the issue of the electoral race, Kouloglou suggested that Syriza "has to turn its great political power into organizational one" to establish deeper ties with grassroots.
He also voiced confidence that even if Syriza lost the elections, it would "come back in four years."
The Greeks will go to the polls on Sunday. The ruling party called the vote after it lost to the center-right ND party in May's European Parliament elections and the opposition urged Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to resign.
