In a sharp televised response, government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis launched a pointed critique against former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras—targeting both his recent remarks on Greece’s foreign policy and his presentation of political figures.
‘Blatant Lies Without Hesitation’
Marinakis accused Tsipras of distorting historical facts, particularly regarding national defense matters. Speaking on national television, he said: ‘I believe this is one of the most emblematic cases where Mr. Tsipras lies without hesitation. It’s black-and-white: while Turkey was not only a customer but also a co-producer of the F-35 fighter jets during Tsipras’s premiership, Greece wasn’t even part of the discussion on acquiring them.’
He added that, in terms of diplomatic achievements under Tsipras, ‘the only tangible success we can recall is a tie with Mr. Zaev’—a reference to the 2018 Prespa Agreement with North Macedonia’s then-Prime Minister Zoran Zaev—‘while everything else exists only in Mr. Tsipras’s imagination.’
Criticism of Presented Political Figures
Regarding the individuals Tsipras recently introduced as part of his new political initiative, Marinakis noted that ‘more than half were SYRIZA members or elected officials.’ He argued that SYRIZA’s top-tier leadership had been sidelined—‘hidden away, sent to the balcony, pushed off the political stage.’
‘What he’s marketing as “different” is actually built on SYRIZA cadres,’ Marinakis said. ‘He’s trying to create a SYRIZA 2.0. Yet when we hear these figures appearing on TV channels praising Tsipras’s policy “successes,” we must ask: why doesn’t he want his former first-line leadership? The answer is simple—we’re talking about a resounding failure of governance.’