Speaking to SKAI television, Floridis claimed: ‘Greece’s biggest strategic ally in the region is Israel. These protests were aimed at attacking our biggest strategic ally – they aimed to commit suicide.’ He further linked the demonstrations to Turkey, remarking: ‘On Friday, Turkey’s foreign minister said it was closing its ports to Israel. So, we wanted to commit suicide by chasing Israel – by doing what Turkey is doing against Israel. Before Gaza, there is Greece. It requires a lot of attention. We must put the homeland above all else.’
On Tsipras: ‘A move of despair’
Floridis was also asked about the possibility of former prime minister Alexis Tsipras founding a new party. He dismissed the idea as ‘a move of despair’, arguing that for six years the opposition had failed to develop a coherent programme or political alternative to Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
‘Returning to a person who has been tried, who failed miserably in government and who has been defeated six or seven times by Mitsotakis, shows great despair,’ he said. ‘Tsipras, because he offers no new political proposal and because of his disastrous governance of the country, is a great gift to Mitsotakis.’
Floridis struck a similar note when asked about speculation over a possible party linked to Antonis Samaras. ‘There are systems, let’s not kid ourselves, which have one goal – to remove Mitsotakis – without caring about the country or the people,’ he said. ‘The most dangerous thing is that they have no alternative. They want Mitsotakis to leave so he does not secure a majority in the next elections, pushing us towards a multi-party government where various parties will be controlled as puppets by businessmen.’
Tempi rail disaster case
Floridis also commented on the ongoing judicial process into the Tempi rail disaster. Referring to the fire department’s report, he said: ‘The investigator is now making his report and forwarding the case file to the appeals prosecutor, who is no longer obliged to take it to the judicial council and is proceeding immediately by setting a trial date.’
He insisted that the case was ‘getting back on track where it should have been from the beginning’. He added: ‘In reality, justice has never gone off track. Others tried with incredible scheming and conspiracy theories to divert this case for political purposes.’
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