“What we are seeing in America through development is that it is slowly turning into an oligarchy or if you want a plutocracy of the few,” commented , in the wake of what was announced by Donald Trump who was sworn in as the 47th president of the .
Speaking to ERTNews, he added that in America, “at the same time that we have the tragic and destructive fires in California, we have President Trump talking about the continuation and development of mining, extolling oil and natural gas. These are the paradoxes we see in America(…)”.
Mr. Papandreou said that internally he is forming a repressive mechanism. “Talk about freedom of the press. But in fact, I believe this is a pretext for him to be able to go after his critics. He talks about justice, but he will fully control justice.” He even added that unfortunately, he has on his side the most powerful owners of the digital platforms.
Regarding the climate he is receiving, since he himself is in America, he said, among other things, that “many are now becoming aware, . Biden said it too” and added that, “this has been in the making for years, but now it has the stamp of a president and a government of billionaires and with the unanimous support of the very powerful rich of America. And of course it’s not just the digital platforms, it’s also many others in the oil, pharmaceutical industries that will have the first say, which of course have been powerful lobbies anyway for many years, if not decades. Unfortunately, however, we see America taking the path of a state that undermines the rule of law.”
“Europe must think of a strong, unified foreign and defense policy” – What he said about Turkey
As to whether US-NATO relations will be affected after Trump’s election, Mr. Papandreou said that, “it has been a fixed Greek position for decades and under Andreas Papandreou, when he criticized NATO, to have a strong, autonomous European defense. Of course, none of us want our people’s money to go to weapons systems, but if it is for our defense, the basic defense of Europe, there needs to be a serious defense policy.
This probably means an increase in resources. But it also means coordination. Not every country can carry the burden, but they want a cooperation on technology, on the development of weapons systems and on the coordination of these defense armaments and of course the strategy.”
And he went on to say that since there remains this feeling that Trump does not have much regard for Europe and for NATO, “Europe must seriously think about a strong, unified foreign and defense policy that will secure its borders, its basic human rights and the democracy. And of course it will also play a more decisive role in the region, especially in the Middle East and of course also in the region in relation to Russia.”
He added that, “it is a wake-up call for Europeans, a substantial change that should take place in relation to foreign policy. I also believe something else. I have spoken to several Americans, including the former governor and legendary politician, Jerry Brown of California. Some of the Republicans say that what Trump says about expanding America’s borders are more negotiating bluffs. Even if this is true, even if it is a negotiating tactic, it gives the impression that anyone with power can disobey international rules, international legality and use their power to impose themselves on their neighbor or on a area of the earth. Of course you understand what this means for our region.”
