"As long as the Cyprus problem is open, Hellenism will never be able to feel calm", stressed the President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou, while pointing out the need for a fair and sustainable solution, based on the decisions of the Council of the United Nations and the EU acquis .
In a full-length interview with ERT and journalist Apostolos Maggiriadis, a few hours before the reception at the Presidential Palace for the 50th anniversary of the restoration of the Republic, Mrs. Sakellaropoulou described the issue of Cyprus and the fiscal crisis as the biggest failures of the Postcolonial period.
As he noted, "Cyprus is a member of the EU and an EU member country is not meant to be divided".
In the garden of the Presidency and with the Presidential Palace in the background, Mrs. Sakellaropoulou referred to the modern Hellenic Republic and the achievements of the Post-colonial period, but also to the challenges it faces in the international arena.
She also spoke about the need for reforms with the largest possible consensus, responded to the criticism she received for her participation in a dinner following the passing of the Marriage Equality Act, as well as the question of whether she would like a second term in the Presidency of Democracy and described her personal imprint on the highest State Institution. At the same time, he also referred to a series of issues such as the Cyprus issue, Justice, human rights, the climate crisis, immigration and ended by sending a message of optimism for the future of our country, on the occasion of the completion of 50 years since the restoration of the Republic .
In particular, Mrs. Sakellaropoulou emphasized that a liberal and democratic country, with the history of Greece, must have high goals and noted that despite the difficulties we went through both with the fiscal crisis and the pandemic, our institutions managed to endure and for our country to be a pillar of stability in a sensitive area. As he said, "The institutions have endured, without this meaning that they are not all receptive to improvements, with continuous efforts, because the charming element of democracy is that it is a continuous claim. We must constantly fight to conquer the next ones."
Referring to the greatest achievement of the Post-Revolutionary period, she spoke of the "consolidation of a liberal democracy, the normality we experienced with the holding of unaltered elections all these years and the smooth change in power, the resolution of the State, the legalization of the Communist Party and the recognition of the National Resistance and, of course, the entry into the European Union and then into the Monetary Union" and added that "there were definitely many individual reforms, mainly in the 75 Constitution on which very important legislative interventions were based".
Describing the challenges that our country must face, he made special reference to the climate crisis, arguing that interstate and international cooperation is needed, and he particularly focused on demographics, which he characterized as a huge issue for Greece and the future of our country, he referred to the necessary changes for the modernization of Justice, while he did not fail to mention the migration, the humanitarian crisis and the insecurity created both by the ongoing war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East.
However, he sent a message of optimism for the future stressing that we will move forward vigorously and remarked that "man must always look to the future with optimism, never give up and never give up."
Asked to describe her personal imprint at the Presidency of the Republic, after clarifying that she does not come from the field of politics, she emphasized that she served the judiciary as a judge for almost 40 years and thus was called upon to meet the demands of her new institutional role, noting that the President of the Republic has limited powers but high symbolic importance and is called upon to express unity and stability.
At the same time, he argued that "institutions evolve along 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".
In this context, he emphasized that "what I mainly sought and was interested in doing is, on the one hand, to remain faithful to my responsibilities and my obligations, as written by the Constitution and the laws, and to the tradition, if you like, of the institutional role. But I wanted this openness to society. For the institution to come closer to the citizen or the citizen to the institution, and this is what I sought".
He also stated that "of course I wanted and I tried and I will try until the end of my term to travel all over Greece and, either with my speeches or with events, to give this mark. To be heard, as I said, to give a voice to those who don't have one, to shed some light on aspects and aspects of society, the social whole, the vulnerable and other groups, who were not always in the front."
Responding to the criticism she received for her participation in a dinner that followed the passing of the Marriage Equality Law, she asserted that "in the 4 years that I have been President, I have never placed myself, for any reform, while it was still a Bill, that is, before it was passed by the Parliament. Never, because I am very careful about this matter. The same thing happened now. It's a completely different thing before and after. Any legislation, especially those concerning individual rights, often cause tensions in society. Not just in Parliament, but in society. But this is democracy, this is the essence of democracy, some choices are made by the one who has the responsibility and the initiative, the discussion takes place, the exchange of arguments in the Parliament and then a Law is passed or not. I think it is absurd after the passing of the Law, a Law in fact that concerns an issue that in most liberal democracies has also been adopted, to discuss that someone wrongly takes the position of one side or the other and that it hurts the feelings of the one who has the other side point of view".
Beyond that, he continued, "the incidents of that night are not so important, but I want to say that I have been a judge for 40 years and I have always expressed myself, I fought, as far as the cases I processed, for individual rights. Human rights for which the basic principle is universality. The universality of the enjoyment of rights is the central principle for rights in a liberal democracy. It is divisive to divide rights into majorities and minorities, not to defend universal enjoyment. Here some of our fellow citizens claimed and succeeded in enjoying rights that we already have. They didn't take anything away from anyone else. But I respect everyone's opinion."
Regarding the possibility of a second term in the Presidency of the Republic, he replied that "what I wish is until the last day, in March '25, to do my duty, what is described and what I have planned, trying to respond. So I try to respond in the best way. As I had not been concerned about the first term – in any case these are decisions of other institutions with their own criteria – so I do not find the reason to be concerned about anything beyond that".
When asked if she was concerned about her own, personal reputation, she argued that "anyone who holds a public position should be concerned with the imprint they will leave, because we are all, in the position that each one is called to serve, aligned to the collective good. Therefore, this should concern us and everyone's efforts should be intensified there. To do his job to the best of his ability, to perform his duty in the best possible way so that something will remain, the one that society will ultimately appreciate and history will record."
Source: KYPE