"The currency is not a fetish"

Speaking on a television show on NET, Alexis Tsipras said that "the currency is not a fetish" and that SYRIZA will say "no" to the stay of the country in the eurozone if the price for the Greek people is too great.

Answering on whether he agrees with Panagiotis Lafazanis, who said that the euro cannot be a "fetish", Tsipras said "I strongly agree. The currency is not a fetish. Does it matter if it is the drachma or the euro? I am one of the most ardent supporters of a stable Europe. We must stay in Europe, our future is here. But if the memoranda continue they will lead us out of the euro and turn us into Africa. A country with 1.5 million unemployed, failed schools and hospitals, hungry children and wages of 300 euros looks like a country from Africa." Asked whether he would say "no" to the euro if the price for the Greek people is too great, the president of SYRIZA said "if we accept the euro and nothing else then we won’t be able to negotiate, nor will we manage to have better conditions for Europe. We say yes to the euro, which is the national currency, but we will fight for equal participation in the Eurozone, because starvation wages are not equal participation."

Earlier, during his speech in Patra, he spoke about replacing the memorandum and renegotiation of the unfavorable terms in the loan agreement, giving a clearer example of what he will do if he becomes prime minister.

Tsipras argued that a vote for SYRIZA ensures the benefit gained by Spain, which achieved funding without an accompanying memorandum and the "no to the memorandum of the center-right Rajoy in Spain is SYRIZA's no to the memorandum in Greece." He described the memorandum as "a worthless piece of paper", while noting that "the dilemma between the euro or SYRIZA no longer exists" adding that "even Schaeuble said that we do not want and cannot legally expel any country from the Eurozone."

Earlier, Panagiotis Lafazanis stated that Greece cannot afford an interruption of funding from EU. He specifically said that "there will be difficulties with a stoppage of funding but we will endure and will not retreat in the name of a memorandum policy that is disastrous for the country."