Nikos Stefos. Born in Alexandria, Egypt and raised in Athens, where he studied Public Law, the older ones will remember him from when, very young, he was one of the best-known journalists of ERT, to follow a long career in newspapers and magazines as a reporter , political editor, editor-in-chief and media director in Greece and Cyprus. In his more than 30 years of journalistic career, he met world personalities, with exclusive interviews with leaders (Gaddafi, Arafat, Mesut Yilmaz, Kofi Annan, Giscard D’Estaing).
Since he was a small child in the New Democracy and later always politicized, this year he enters politics for the first time, following the choice of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to include him in the European ballot of the governing faction.
Today, he answers the questions of “Peloponnisos” regarding the current internal affairs of the country, but mainly regarding the stakes of the Eurocalps.
– You are also one of those who receive criticism for your participation in active politics. What business do journalists and TV people have, now, with the European Parliament?
By the same logic, what business do engineers, doctors, lawyers, etc. have in politics and now in the European Parliament? When you have been involved in political reporting, research, behind the scenes and in the foreground for 35 years, you have become an expert and you know people and situations, you want to come forward and serve society, your country and of course the idea of a United Europe.
I completed a long cycle in journalism and decided to take the bold step, to respond to the Prime Minister’s honorable invitation, to fight the ND battle.
I deal with European issues, I am a European, as some say a federalist, in an EU that is going through a crisis of ideas, values and people. A crisis in the common foreign policy and very strongly lately, because of the wars, and in the common defense policy.
– The European elections, however, tend to develop into a terrain of internal political confrontation regarding the current (accuracy, education, security, health) and not regarding issues that concern the EU. Should it be?
Politicians and citizens should, in this pre-election period, focus on where the EU is going. For better or worse – and for me badly – people find the opportunity to express their dissatisfaction with governments. And I say governments, because this is not only happening in Greece, but other peoples are doing it too. The expression of such discomfort I consider to be wrong. We should and must focus on what Europe is doing and what it can do for our country. It is our mother, it is the matrix of the issues that concern our daily life. Well, we care and we are paranoid regarding what is happening in Brussels. Yes, I understand there are issues internally, like Tempi. Yes. But it is no use, with our vote to play our luck at dice. Our vote is not a game. It is not possible to return to times of toxicity, division and regression. Enough with the populism. Seriousness and responsibility are required.
– Therefore, politically, what is the meaning of the upcoming elections?
It is of great importance to give even more power to Kyriakos Mitsotakis. So that, strengthened following the election, he will go to Brussels and negotiate for farmers and a Recovery Fund that will finance even more Small and Medium Enterprises and the Economy.
– There is the well-known counterargument, regarding what the EU did for us. With the memoranda, the cuts, the confiscation of our property for decades. So what do you say?
Our country is going through a period of unprecedented prosperity and development. Regardless of the memoranda, which led us to our own mistakes. Europe is not to blame. The EU helped Greece and its economy move forward. It is a tragic mistake, therefore, to say today that Europe did not help us.
– Regarding the external risks facing Greece, there is once more the counterargument that many EU states do not support us. So what does the EU mean for our country?
Better than not even being in the European edifice. That is why we should focus our attention on these issues. Those that need answers and solutions.
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