Former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, in a letter to the President of the Republic Konstantinos Tassoulas, is requesting the publication of the minutes from the critical meeting of the Council of Political Leaders held the day after the 2015 referendum.

According to Mr. Tsipras, there is an urgent need to shed full light on all aspects of the events from that period, as “the truth about the past equips us for the present and the future.” He states that “the minutes contain the views of all political parties, their assessments of the referendum and its outcome, and the strategy that the Greek government should follow to lead the country out of the deadlock of bankruptcy.”

At the same time, the former prime minister emphasizes that “both the outcome of the freely expressed will of the Greek people and the ability of the political leaders to shape a unified national strategy were, during those historic moments for our country, crucial factors for the final outcome of the difficult negotiations and the agreement with our lenders.”

Among other things, he refers to “an agreement that ultimately opened the prospect for the country’s exit from the crisis through a restructuring of public debt and guaranteed funding to meet its loan obligations, the restoration of its international credibility, return to the markets, and the reinstatement of our homeland into economic, democratic, and national normalcy, freeing it from the suffocating oversight of third parties.”

The full letter from former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras:

To the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Konstantinos Tassoulas

Honorable Mr. President,

In a few days, it will be ten years since the referendum of July 5, 2015, and the critical meeting of the Council of Political Leaders that took place the day after the public vote.

Both the result of the freely expressed will of the Greek people and the ability of the political leaders to form a unified national strategy were, during those historic moments for our country, crucial factors for the final outcome of the difficult negotiations and the agreement with our lenders.

An agreement that ultimately opened the prospect for the country’s exit from the crisis through a restructuring of public debt and guaranteed financing for the repayment of its loan obligations, the restoration of its international credibility, return to the markets, and the reinstatement of our homeland into economic, democratic, and national normalcy, freeing it from the suffocating oversight of third parties.

It is reasonable that those critical events, which affected the lives of millions of people, continue to occupy public discourse to this day. This makes it even more imperative to shed full light on all their aspects, as the truth about the past equips us for the present and the future.

That is why I am asking you, on this tenth anniversary, to make public the minutes of the Council of Political Leaders, which was convened at my request by the then President of the Hellenic Republic, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, the day after the referendum.

These minutes include the views of all political parties, their assessments of the referendum and its result, as well as the strategy that the Greek government should follow to lead the country out of the deadlock of bankruptcy.

As Dionysios Solomos said: “The nation must learn to regard as national whatever is true.” Confident that you share this view, I expect you to fulfill your democratic and institutional duty to the truth.

With respect,
Alexis Tsipras