A different Katerina Sakellaropoulou, far from the heavy suit that dictates the protocol of the Presidency of the Republic, appeared on the television screen through her interview on the show “Protagonists” by Stavros Theodorakis. Mrs. Sakellaropoulou opened her home in her hometown of Stavroupoli, Xanthi, which remains, as she explained, her refuge. She welcomed the reporter to her grandparents’ house which, she says, is loaded with memories. “Homeland is our childhood” admits the President of the Republic, recounting that she often visited her special homeland while she has vivid memories of the Easter days. It is the place that is to this day a haven of peace where she can enjoy reading, walking but also more emotionally charged moments, since as she explains she always tries to leave a flower on her grandparents’ grave.
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“I feel pain and rage and shame even when I see train tracks”
The conversation, while they are at the Stavroupoli railway station, is transferred to Tempe accident. “Since that day, when I see tracks or a train beyond the pain and anger I still feel shame” notes Mrs. Sakellaropoulou. To the question of whether justice will be served, the President of the Republic answers that “I want to believe that yes, it is a demand of society, since that night when 57 lives were lost, and indeed of young people, the feelings of pain and anger are what possess all of us, I want to believe that justice will do its duty, everyone is waiting for answers, for responsibilities to be assigned and for the punishment provided by the legal order to exist”. She points out that she wants to believe that justice will do its job and give the answers we expect, not all questions are simply explained and need investigation. “Judges must show fairness, this is their sacred duty,” he points out. She herself, having served in the judiciary, notes: “In the Republic, justice must be with every citizen, especially the vulnerable, and to grant justice so that the citizen has the feeling that he has found his justice” and continues by recalling that he has been a judge for 40 years, “I know that many of my colleagues try and want to do the right thing, there will have been mistakes, judges are human too, deep down I wish that they are not influenced by anyone in their judgment.”
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“I do not accept that anyone who seeks an inclusive society can divide”
“Nobody lives in the bulletproof” she answers the question about the criticism that is sometimes leveled at her. He is watching her he admits. When asked by Stavros Theodorakis about her participation in the epinikia after the marriage equality law was passed, she clarifies that it was not an epinikia, but an emblematic law that gives equal rights to a group of people. In her career, she adds, she has been a judge for 40 years and in the 4 years she has been in Herodos Atticus, she has proven her sensitivity to human rights and their universal enjoyment. “I do not accept that anyone who seeks an inclusive society can be divisive,” he notes meaningfully.
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The dialogue with Ankara
Mrs. Sakellaropoulou, refers to his trip Recep Tayyip Erdogan in December in Athens, explaining that the communication was satisfactory. “Greece’s position is in favor of dialogue with respect to international law, but no one lost from good relations” he points out, adding that he can only see these moves positively. However, the President of the Republic also talks about the explosive landscape both in the ongoing war in Ukraine and in the Middle East. “Greece supports Ukraine. He chose this side of history because Ukrainians are fighting for European values,” emphasizes Mrs. Sakellaropoulou. For the Middle East, he emphasizes that Hamas carried out a brutal attack, but from then on, Israel’s right to defend itself must have limits. “It cannot be enough that so many human lives are being lost, what should happen at some point and we wish for it is for all peoples to coexist, the Palestinians have the same right to exist.”
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The courts are the final judge for HEIs
Regarding the reform in HEIs and the debate concerning Article 16, Mrs. Sakellaropoulou notes: “I followed the debate in this scientific dialogue and I believe that opinions were expressed both in one direction and in the other direction. I know and believe that the final judge in a state of law as our country is, so are the courts”.
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Climate crisis
The walk in the river of Nestos, in which he recounts that he used to swim when he was younger, provokes the discussion about the climate crisis. “In the past, the environment in our country has been abused,” he characteristically says. “I want to believe that we have all learned lessons from the past and the younger generations realize how critical it is to save the environment for the future. It is not by chance that we received something and we must hand over to the next generations the environment is expendable and we must manage it with a way to show respect to it.”
Toxicity in politics and the media
Mrs. Sakellaropoulou made a special reference to the phenomena of toxicity in public discourse. “Toxicity, whether it’s in the political arena or in the media, is not something he wants. It kind of obscures things,” he notes. And he concludes by saying that “when one is not sober enough to listen to the other point of view and arguments one cannot come to a conclusion. We have to remain as calm as we can and be open to the other and listen to his side.”
“I represent my gender”
The interview ends in Mrs. Sakellaropoulou’s office at the Presidential Palace. Where it has welcomed great foreign leaders as well as people of society. The first woman in this position states that she tries to be open to others, this is her obligation and desire explains. Regarding gender equality, he emphasizes that “steps have been taken and it is very important, but there is still a lot to be done. I did not feel any discrimination in my course in court, but these attitudes exist and women sometimes feel that we have to prove something much more in order to be recognized. Although important steps have been taken, today women can pursue and achieve what they dream of, but the road is not always easy, this famous glass ceiling is not easily broken”.
“I’m here representing all those who have achieved small or big things and it’s very moving in my travels to find older women, women who were in the fields at home and didn’t have the opportunity to have a career or claim more that one of them is President of the Republic. “I could be their daughter or their granddaughter many times I am here for them too because many women have offered a lot for us to be here today so if I wanted to talk about heroines I would say that my heroines are ordinary everyday women who came before and who continue to they are fighting”, he clarifies.
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