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The President of the Republic gave a full interview Katerina Sakellaropoulou On ERT, a few hours before reception presidential palace Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the restoration of the Republic.
In the Presidential Gardens, with the Presidential Palace as the backdrop, Katerina Sakellaropoulou spoke of the achievements of the modern Greek Republic and the post-colonial period, but also of the challenges it faces on the international stage.
She also spoke about the need to carry out reforms with the greatest possible consensus, responded to criticism she received for attending a dinner following the passage of the Marriage Equality Act, and the question of whether she would be willing to serve a second term as a Democratic president and described her personal stamp on the highest national institution.
At the same time, he mentioned a series of issues such as the Cyprus problem, justice, human rights, the climate crisis, migration, etc., and ended with an optimistic message for the future of our country, marking the 50th anniversary of the restoration of the Republic.
Ms. Sakellaropoulou stressed that a liberal democracy with Greece’s history must have lofty goals, noting that despite the difficulties we have experienced with the financial crisis and the pandemic, our institutions have managed to withstand the test and make our country a pillar of stability in a sensitive region.
“I will perform my duties until the end of my term”
Regarding the possibility of re-election as President of the Republic, he replied: “I want to carry out my duties until the last day, which is March 25, and do what has been described and what I planned, and try to respond. So I try to respond in the best way possible. Since I am not concerned about the first term – in any case, these are decisions made by other institutions according to their own criteria – I have no reason to worry about anything beyond that.”
When asked if she was worried about her personal reputation, she argued that “anyone who holds a public office should be concerned about the mark that they’re going to leave because all of us are in a position where everyone is called to serve, to be consistent. For the collective good. So, that’s something that we should be concerned about and we should step up to do our job to the best of our ability and to perform our duties in the best way possible so that we can leave something behind, leave something behind that society will ultimately appreciate and that history will record.”
As he puts it, “The fact that these institutions persist doesn’t mean that they aren’t all open to constant effort to improve, because the beauty of democracy is that it’s an ongoing proposition. We have to keep fighting to conquer the next one.”
Attending dinner after marriage equality law passed was criticized
Responding to criticism for attending a dinner following the passage of the Marriage Equality Act, she insisted: “In my four years as president, I never put myself in a position to be involved in any reform while it was still in place. “A bill, before it was passed by Parliament. Never, because I was very careful about it. The same thing is happening now. Before and after are completely different things. Any legislation, especially when it comes to individual rights, often creates tension in society.”
Not only in Parliament, but in society. But that’s democracy, that’s the essence of democracy, some choices are made by people who have responsibility and initiative, to discuss, to exchange views in Parliament, and then to pass or not pass a law. I think it’s ridiculous to discuss that someone wrongly took a position on one side or the other and hurt feelings after that law has been passed, which actually deals with issues that most liberal democracies have also passed. People who hold the other side of the view. Apart from that, what happened that night is not that important, but I would like to say that I have been a judge for 40 years and I have always said that in terms of the cases I deal with, I have always fought for the rights of individuals.
The Achievements and Failures of Postcolonialism
Speaking of the greatest achievements of the post-revolutionary period, she spoke of “the consolidation of liberal democracy, the normalcy that we have experienced over the years by holding unaltered elections and the smooth transition of power, the resolution of the state, the legalization of the Communist Party and the recognition of national resistance movements, and of course the accession to the European Union and then to the Monetary Union”, adding that “there are certainly many individual reforms, mainly the 1975 Constitution, in which very important legislative interventions are based”.
On the contrary, he described the Cyprus problem and the fiscal crisis as the greatest failure of this period and stressed that “Hellenism will never be calm as long as the Cyprus problem is open”, while pointing out the need to develop a fair and sustainable solution based on the decisions of the UN Council and EU law. As he pointed out, “Cyprus is a member of the EU and EU membership does not mean division”.
Challenges facing the country
Describing the challenges that our country must face, he singled out the climate crisis, citing the need for interstate and international cooperation, paid special attention to demography, which he considered a huge problem for the future of Greece and our country, mentioned the changes necessary to modernize the judiciary, while he also mentioned migration, the humanitarian crisis and insecurity caused by the ongoing war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East.
But he sent an optimistic message about the future, emphasizing that we will strive to move forward, and said that “people must always look to the future with optimism, never give up, never give up.”
I have served in the judiciary for nearly 40 years
When asked to describe her personal stamp on the presidency of the republic, she clarified that she did not come from the political sphere and stressed that she had been a judge in the judiciary for almost 40 years and therefore was called upon to meet the requirements of the presidency. She pointed out that the presidency of the republic has limited powers but is highly symbolic and is called upon to show unity and stability.
At the same time, he believes that “institutions evolve together with society, the President of the Republic of ’75 is not the President of the Republic of today, just as society itself is no longer the same”. In this context, he emphasizes that “what I mainly seek and am interested in doing is, on the one hand, to be faithful to my responsibilities and obligations as stipulated by the Constitution and the laws, and to be faithful to tradition, if you are like an institutional role. But I want this openness to society. To bring institutions closer to citizens, or citizens closer to institutions, this is what I am after”.
He also stated, “Of course, I hope and I have tried and I will try to travel all over Greece before the end of my term, both through my speeches and through events, to achieve this goal. As I said, to make those who have no voice heard, to make people aware of all aspects of society, society as a whole, the vulnerable and other groups that are not always at the forefront. ”
When asked if she was worried about her personal reputation, she argued that “anyone who holds a public office should be concerned about the mark that they’re going to leave because all of us are in a position where everyone is called to serve, to be consistent. For the collective good. So, that’s something that we should be concerned about and we should step up to do our job to the best of our ability and to perform our duties in the best way possible so that we can leave something behind, leave something behind that society will ultimately appreciate and that history will record.”
article Katerina Sakellaropoulou: Other institutions decide on the president’s face, I will perform my duties until the end Published on News IT .
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