The leader of Greece’s main opposition party SYRIZA-PS, Stefanos Kasselakis, has shared his vision for Hellenism in the diaspora in an exclusive interview with Neos Kosmos.

The Greek opposition leader stressed that the diaspora should be part of an overall strategy for the economic, social, geopolitical, and cultural revival of Greece.

Among other things, he spoke of the “decisive strengthening of the educational and cultural processes of the diaspora” by a future government of his party.

As a child of the diaspora himself, he wants to listen to and responsibly represent them.

“I will continue to be close to the Greeks of the diaspora even after the European elections, and Australia will be included in the program at the first opportunity,” he told Neos Kosmos.

“As a child of the diaspora, I pledge to our compatriots in Australia that our government will address their issues by simplifying and digitising processes, correcting injustices, and decisively strengthening the education of Greeks abroad.”

And, of course, I will vote in parliament to establish electoral districts abroad so that Greeks of the diaspora cease to be second-class voters and finally elect their own MPs. I’ve already said ‘In the Greek Dream I advocate, the diaspora holds a central position’.”

Read the exclusive Q&A below:

Sotiris Hatzimanolis: At every opportunity, you declare that you are a child of the diaspora. What is your vision for the relationship between the national centre and the diaspora?

Stefanos Kasselakis: In the Greek Dream, which is our plan to make Greece a modern European state, the diaspora has a central role to play. The national centre must stop remembering Greeks abroad only during national holidays and pre-election periods. It must prove in practice that it wants our diaspora to be part of an overall strategy for the economic, social, geopolitical, and cultural revival of the homeland.

We have a plan to give the Greek diaspora the position it deserves. Let me give you a few examples:

1. Support for diaspora associations and federations with absolute respect for their autonomy.

2. Support for a major effort towards self-organisation of the tertiary collective expression of the Greek diaspora.

3. Simplification and digitisation of state services provided to our diaspora. End the tyranny of bureaucracy, address long-standing tax, pension, and property injustices, and stop the state from treating the diaspora with hostility. Allow the diaspora to issue necessary documents with a few clicks on their computers. Certainly, proceed with necessary intergovernmental agreements to end the diaspora’s suffering in matters of health, taxation, etc.

4. Utilisation of the exceptional scientific and entrepreneurial potential of the diaspora in the strategy of the Greek Dream: from attracting investments to scientific contributions in planning and implementing major projects and changes, from infrastructure and the green transition to the restructuring of the state mechanism, utilising best practices from abroad.

5. Decisive strengthening of the educational and cultural processes of the diaspora. Ensure the Greek language reaches everywhere with sufficient teaching staff and timely secondments every year. Promote both classical and modern Greek culture everywhere, highlighting Greece’s current role as a geopolitical, commercial, and cultural hub that connects the West with the East and the European North with the Southeastern Mediterranean.

6. Establishment of electoral districts abroad so that Greeks in the diaspora can elect their own representatives to the Hellenic Parliament. Not only should they have the right to vote, but also to be elected, so that the issues that concern them reach the decision-making centre.

SH: On the issue of postal voting, why did you vote against the amendment to extend it to national elections?

SK: We do not disagree with postal voting. However, the last-minute amendment proposed by Ms Kerameus to establish postal voting for national elections, done “sneakily,” nullified our consent, as it showed that the government was not interested in consensus but in exploiting postal voting.

Regarding the overall bill, we submitted specific proposals to Parliament to ensure the confidentiality of voters’ personal data and the integrity of the postal voting process, which the government majority rejected. Our fears were confirmed by the Kerameus-Asimakopoulou scandal, where it was proven that personal data of thousands of our diaspora members who voted in the 2023 national elections were leaked from the Ministry of the Interior to an ND candidate for purely electoral purposes.

You had announced that you would visit countries with large diaspora populations, including Australia. When do you plan to visit us?

I always have the diaspora in mind. Since being elected president of SYRIZA, I have visited the USA twice (including for the March 25th parade in New York), celebrated Epiphany with Greeks in Istanbul, visited our diaspora in London, and visited the struggling Greek National Minority in Southern Albania.

I will continue to be close to Greeks of the diaspora after the European elections, and Australia will be included in the schedule at the first opportunity.

Do you believe that the result of the European elections will be favourable for you and decisive for future political developments in Greece?

Our goal is not only for the arrogant Mr Mitsotakis to suffer a major blow on the night of June 9, who responds to every scandal he causes with the 41 per cent of the national elections. Our goal is for the outcome of the European elections to mark the beginning of a new, large, progressive social alliance that will rid our homeland of the Mitsotakis regime and bring about progressive governance for the common good. SYRIZA is the only force that can lead this effort. That is why the vote in the European elections is crucial not only for European policy over the next five years but also for the domestic political scene. I am convinced that we can succeed.

Do you have a message for the Australian diaspora and the diaspora in general?

The diaspora is neglected by the state. Mr Mitsotakis pretends to care about the diaspora by passing postal voting, but in reality, he only wants them as an electoral clientele, as he does not give them the opportunity to elect their own MPs in external electoral districts, as many European countries do. Bureaucratic problems continue in pension, tax, and property issues, the abandonment of Greek schools, the long wait for passport processing, and other official documents in our consulates.

As a child of the diaspora, I commit to our compatriots in Australia that our government will address their problems by simplifying and digitising processes, correcting injustices, and decisively strengthening the education of Greeks in the diaspora. And of course, we will vote in Parliament to establish external electoral districts so that Greeks abroad are no longer second-class voters and can finally elect their own MPs. As I have already said: In the Greek Dream that I advocate, the diaspora has a central place.