Once the case files regarding the OPEKEPE are forwarded to Parliament, then the countdown will begin for governmental initiatives to be taken by PASOK. However, until that moment, the stance from Charilaou Trikoupi Street will be that of “hard rock” towards the government majority, while demanding that the ruling party vote to lift the immunity of MPs allegedly involved in the new case files.
Nikos Androulakis, who during his intervention in Parliament urgently called for elections so that “winds of change” could come to the country, sent a message to MPs on the occasion of the parliamentary group meeting that there should be “unity” as well as “joint initiatives” when the content of the case files becomes known.
At the same time, there was satisfaction with the PASOK president’s performance. “He was very good both in his opening speech and in his closing remarks,” said a regional MP with a smile after the parliamentary group meeting ended. “We must not let them off easy,” noted another.
Fierce attack by Androulakis against government in Parliament: “Elections now, let’s finish this – you put the country’s public security at risk”
The PASOK leader launched a fierce attack against the government, demanding elections from the Parliament podium. “Elections to finish this, let winds of change blow, to put an end to impunity. The democratic solution to bring winds of Justice and Democracy,” the PASOK leader characteristically emphasized, exercising sharp criticism of the government regarding both the wiretapping case and OPEKEPE.
“According to regulations, we should have discussed a deep state aggressive towards citizens’ rights, a deep state that you set up from the first day you became government at Maximos Mansion. Instead of respecting the regulations because we submitted on March 4th the request for pre-agenda discussion on rule of law, which explicitly provides that it must be discussed within a month,” Nikos Androulakis emphasized. “We expected the discussion to happen tomorrow and ultimately it’s not happening, obviously Mitsotakis wants to buy time to manage the public blackmail being conducted against him by the former Israeli military official, he wants time for backstage management, dark negotiations. You want to violate institutions and Parliament itself. What triggered all this? The decision of the Athens Single-Member Misdemeanor Court. A historic decision,” he added.
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“You turned the regulations into toilet paper. The Parliament president comes and instead of protecting parliament tries to justify the unjustifiable. We heard the excuse that it didn’t happen the previous week because of a congress. In 29 days they couldn’t find one day, but their choice was the day of the congress,” he added.
Androulakis on wiretapping: “You don’t have the courage to tell the truth”
Nikos Androulakis, speaking about the wiretapping case, emphasized the following: “Two days before this congress, Dilian was blackmailing Mitsotakis as Greece’s Nixon. Who are you kidding? Enough. You couldn’t find two words, all of you, to condemn Dilian for public blackmail. Did you take legal action? He’s blackmailing the entire Maximos Mansion. He’s blackmailing the deep state you set up. You don’t have the courage to tell the truth to save whatever you can from this incredible decline. We have a pattern. Parliamentary committees functioning as parodies, instead of calling living witnesses, you call dead ones, committees where according to transcripts we read and heard defendants saying that New Democracy MPs were giving them the questions, they went to the committee and then the protagonists of the deep state called them and congratulated them.”
“Last-minute legislative interventions that undermine democracy, midnight changes to the composition of independent authorities in pleasant cooperation with Velopoulos,” the PASOK leader added, continuing as follows: “The Council of State makes a decision and Mitsotakis rejects it, Article 86 is instrumentalized and you tell us we don’t respect justice. Respect for justice means implementing decisions, not attacking judges, it’s not respect for Justice to tie its hands using Article 86.”
Continuing his fierce criticism of the government, Nikos Androulakis emphasized: “You don’t let us rest, you made Greece an example to avoid. Greece under you is the only country whose cabinet reshuffle is announced by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. An example to avoid because you managed to make us last in per capita GDP, but champions in per capita case files.”