The sudden appearance of a young Greek American – some would say American Greek – being parachuted into Greece, and then catapulted by who knows who into the political limelight raises two fundamental issues for Greece. First, allegiance to America, and pandering to its every wish in foreign and military policy; and second, winning the hearts and minds of Greek youth, and converting them to the LGBQT way of living. Let us look briefly at these two issues, after which we shall look at and then compare Kasselakis and Mitsotakis, before finally considering the danger to the Greek people of this parachute politics.
That Greece is completely a subset of American policy is hardly open to question: although one of the poorest EU countries, Greece has delivered vital arms to Ukraine, and its hard-pressed taxpayers continue to finance the killing. On top of that, Prime Minister Mitsotakis, speaking at the Atlantic Council in January 2020, slavishly expressed Athens’s support for the US’ illegal killing of Iranian general Suleimani1, something that neither France nor Germany deigned to do. Should Kasselakis ever gain serious power, whether in a reconstituted and renamed Syriza or as an opposition figure in Parliament, he will undoubtedly push the US geopolitical agenda. And here, paradoxically, he could have the support, subtle or otherwise, of the American-educated Mitsotakis, also a financial dealer by training and experience.
More destabilising for Greek society, however, is Kasselakis’ highly publicised rôle as a homosexual, and strong supporter of the LGBQT minority, in a country that, like Russia, Serbia and Hungary, believes in traditional Christian values. He has claimed on Alpha TV that LGBQT people ‘face challenges’ in Greece, thus publicising a small minority of people, and giving them more power than their size deserves, a group of people that did not even exist until a few years ago, in the now dead days of ‘live and let live’. As such, he is creating controversy and potential social strife. As for Mitsotakis, on 4 July this year (America’s Independence Day), in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Athens, he said that same-sex marriage would happen at some point, and that it was part of his strategy, adding that Greek society was much more ready and mature2. What ‘ready and mature’ means is open to debate. Is it mature to go against the most basic tenets of Greece’s Orthodox Christian faith? Taking the arguments of the very small but loud-mouthed LGBTQ brigade further, do parents really wish their little children to be asked in school whether they are male or female, and told the intricate details of sex between homosexuals? This is tantamount to exploiting children as guinea pigs to satisfy the warped lusts of a tiny minority of narcistically pseudo-compassionate social engineers. It is child abuse.
Traditionally, nearly everyone wishing to go into politics must spend years of hard work, usually in conjunction with his /her job. When I joined a political party in England years ago, it took several years of meetings, always at night or weekends, campaigning and networking before I even stood in an election3. Exceptions to this are extremely rare.
That this can happen in Greece is, on the one hand, democratic, but on the other, highly suspicious, suggesting backstage manipulation by Greek and external forces. That Syriza accepted the newcomer is a reflection of how the Greek people have been battered into blindness by the economic catastrophe of the past few years. Hundreds of thousands of thinking Greeks have left.
Clearly, Kasselakis’ sudden appearance has been heavily financed from somewhere. Any serious investigative journalist needs to delve into the complicated finances of Kasselakis’ company SwiftBulk, which he founded in March 2017. It is registered in the Marshall Islands, and has one employee, CEO Stefanos Kasselakis. It has been funded by Ridgebox, an investment company. Tiptree acquired it in February 2018. The advantages of a Marshall Islands company registration are limited personal liability and asset protection. Non-resident domestic entities are exempt from taxes, and there is privacy for shareholders, members, directors, managers, and officers. In June 2022, Kasselakis’ company sold its dry bulk tankers for $67.7 million, keeping just two small tankers4. And then, on 23 March this year, according to Companies House in London, Kasselakis terminated his appointment as Director of SwiftBulk RM Ltd. (company number 11872563). At any rate, who knows whether he is still the owner?
If he were not such a self-publicised homosexual LGBTQ man, one wonders whether he would have even been noticed, despite the enormous funding poured into his sudden arrival. His sexual preferences apart, he is uncannily similar in his business career to Mitsotakis, also an American-trained and financial and banking expert. Both are from Cretan backgrounds, from prosperous middle-class families, and both attended the Athens College. Both favour same-sex marriage. Mitsotakis did his military service. Kasselakis has not, as he lived in the USA from the age of 14. However, he has not been released from the duty. He would be exempt, if he were over 45 years old. But he must still serve for 20 days in the Greek Army, or pay a fine of 810 euros for each month he avoids. I’m guessing that he might serve, in a huge PR operation.
To sum up, in a situation where Left and Right parties no longer have much meaning, a cynical realist might think that not only are Kasselakis and Mitsotakis America’s useful LGBTQ idiots, but that Greece is too. Whether the Greeks care about their children, and people wake up, has yet to be seen. Kasselakis can be considered as America’s LGBTQ weapon.
1 https://greekreporter.com/2020/01/12/iran-furious-with-greece-over-support-for-soleimani-killing/ Kokkinidis, Tassos, 7 January 2020, Greek Reporter.
2 Paul Tugwell and Sotiris Nikas, Bloomberg, 5 July 2023.
3 I obtained nearly 21,561 votes in London West in the European elections in 1994.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_West_(European_Parliament_constituency)
4 Rust, Bob, Trade Winds, 28 June 2022.
