Androulakis: Greece needs a substantial change after a difficult decade of successive crises

July 24 marks the country's exit from the seven-year dictatorship and the start of a course towards a future of prosperity, equality and freedom, PASOK-KINAL leader Nikos Androulakis said on Wednesday at the 50-year anniversary from the restoration of democracy in Greece addressing the Parliament.

Androulakis noted that today we must "be on alert, especially at a time when revisionist leaders such as Recep Tayyip Erdogan insist on the division and establishment of two states in Cyprus ... We should not accept any policy of dividing the island by one country, which does not respect the International Law and violates human rights within it and the sovereign rights of neighbouring countries."

Referring to the course of the 50 years of post-dictatorship, he said that PASOK defined the social legacy of the entire period. "The first governments of Andreas Papandreou inaugurated a period of expansion of the welfare state which strengthened the feeling of the liberation of the citizen, in social and economic terms. For the first time, after the war, the rapid upward social mobility took hold, resulting in the reduction of inequalities," he emphasized and listed the important changes and national achievements brought by PASOK governments."

He underlined that "today we need, a truly essential change that will turn a new page in the country after a very difficult decade of consecutive crises which will restore faith and vision to the Greek people, with the new generation and the underprivileged at the centre". He also pointed out that the problems of the Greek state must be faced with courage, policies must be formulated that protect the rule of law and guarantee the strengthening of institutions and the separation of powers.

We must harshly judge policies that increase inequality, accelerate the climate crisis, undermine the rule of law and remove citizens from active participation", he added and concluded: "It is our historical duty to face with courage and seriousness today's challenges and the quality of democracy at national and European level".