24-10-16 Nikos Filis discusses SYRIZA, ministry reform agenda in Agora interview

“No” is Education Minister Nikos Filis’ answer to the prospect of assuming the duties of SYRIZA party Secretary. The surprise [he placed second] candidate in intra-party elections for the party’s Central Committee tells Agora that he has drafted a three-year plan for the Education Ministry and that the issue of the separation of Church and State has already opened de facto.

Is the message of the party convention that you shall stay on as education minister?

The message of the convention does not involve one or two individuals. It concerns society and the need for an effective SYRIZA policy, based on its programme principles, while taking into account the commitments of the [bailout] memorandum. The convention sent the message that the SYRIZA government is the only one that can implement an exit programme from the crisis while making social policy a priority. This is why the ministers of Education and Health received so many votes – not mainly as a sign of personal approval, but as a message that the focus should be on these areas.

How will [Prime Minister Alexis] Tsipras reshuffle the deck when the party base sends the message to keep certain ministers on? Will he ignore the base?

First of all the message of the convention is that there is great confidence in the figure of Tsipras, a confidence which, as always happens in democratic procedures, has some supplementary messages. That message is that we must proceed united, implementing our commitments to the Greek people and following the programme with which we were elected in September. We must not escape from the responsibility of governing, nor abandon our principles either. The prime minister has, in the framework of his constitutional authority, all the possibilities to do a cabinet reshuffle which in his judgment will create a more effective governing formation.  The votes at the convention are indicative. But they will not finally determine his judgment.

Have you been offered and will you assume the post of SYRIZA party secretary?

No. After all, it is not only an issue for the  person who proposes , but also of whether the person nominated believes they can accomplish that mission.

Hence you say ‘yes’ to remaining in your current ministry?

We have done important work that is acknowledged by public opinion. It involves the timely opening of schools, the first reforms in primary schools, junior high schools, and kindergartens, the upgrading of vocational high schools, the state-issued language learning certificate  so working class families need not pay private tutoring, and we plan other initiatives for the comprehensive reform of high schools, and changes in university admissions, and for graduate programmes and research.

We have a three-year plan. You may ask, can someone else not do that? Certainly. No one is irreplaceable.  We simply say we have acquired experience and have created the prospect of democratic educational reforms.

Will you abolish nationwide panelladikes university entrance exams in three years?

I would not want to commit to a timetable, because it is a very complex issue with many preconditions. Our orientation is to not have the current admissions exams system, but one that is equally inviolable and less costly for families, and less psychologically trying for students – inside high schools.

If you stay on as minister, will you proceed with a Church-State separation?

The prime minister himself, presenting his constitutional amendments proposals, cited the need to amend Article 3, which concerns relations between Church and State.  Hence, the issue has opened in a way. A mature demand such as this must be handled with an aim for the greatest possible consensus, without divisions in society. Surveys over the past years show that about 70 percent of citizens want a Church-State separation.  The aim is not to stir unnecessary tensions and suspicions, but in a rational and democratic matter to find a solution that will be to the benefit of the Church, the State, and of course the people. This must be done step-by-step, without useless slogans, to distinguish the role of each side.

Can there be a painless divorce?  The Archbishop’s statements are in a different tone from the one you describe.

The statements made by the Archbishop to the hierarchy of bishops are of concern, as they seem to reinforce the temptation for the Church administration to return to [intervening in] politics.

In the recent period, the Church has developed important charitable activity. His Beatitude at the helm of the Church has shown a desire for cooperation. Of course, you will tell me the Hierarchy of bishops is a collective organ, and whatever happens in political party conventions may happen in the hierarchy.  I do not wish to pursue this conversation as it may be labeled as “blasphemous”!

 I can imagine what your position would have been if the Church had bid for a broadcast television license…

That idea was discussed some time ago in the Hierarchy and was dismissed as far as I know, because the issue of who would manage this channel arose.  [Metropolitan of Kalavryta] Amvrosios? Or would it be someone else?  It would be an error for an extra-political institution – as the Church is by definition – to become entangled in a political dispute with channels.

So many fronts are open. Are you doing well in some area?

There is no magic wand.  We are trying in all areas. We will be judged when the time for the overall results comes, at the end of the four-year term. This government has a mandate not for one or two years, but for four years. Our opponents are aware of this, and first of all the ‘domestic troika’. That is why they rabidly insist on the notorious tactic of a ‘left-wing parenthesis’. This is a quintessentially undemocratic process, with which they are attempting to create conditions of political instability. This is happening in a period when many major issues are being decided, such as a debt restructuring and increasing economic liquidity with quantitative easing, and the country’s entry into a growth mode.

You sound very certain…

I am certain and convinced that there is no other course. We are not feeding fairy tales to the citizenry with our own brand of success story.  We set specific targets, and we speak of prospects and not certainties. But even more than our economic performance, we are judged on the ethos of the left-wing government, on its effectiveness in handling issues of everyday life of the citizens, on our clash with major interests, on the relationship of honesty we must have with citizens.

Why you and not New Democracy?

[Main opposition New Democracy leader] Mr. Mitsotakis represents the old [system], which has been condemned. We are not the old. We are the prospectively new, with all its problems. We know the other side, the old and worn, which has burned people. An exit from today’s crisis cannot happen with a return to the old – whether that be old-party politics or other anachronisms.