Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis responded to former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras‘ petition to the Supreme Court prosecutor regarding the Predator spyware surveillance case, addressing Samaras’ claims that he has received no response from the government. Marinakis made the comments during his briefing to political correspondents on Monday.
Read also: Samaras files petition with Supreme Court prosecutor demanding full investigation into Predator surveillance
“Once a citizen turns to the justice system, it is the justice system itself that provides the answers,” Marinakis stressed, adding: “Citizens are not interested in our personal agendas.” He also noted that the case began in 2022, and that in 2023 Mr. Samaras was a candidate running with New Democracy.
When asked about the personal attacks the former Prime Minister has been directing at government officials, Marinakis argued that personal feuds are of no interest to society. “I don’t think people care about our personal agendas. Politics must have a plan and a vision for the future. It would be strange if none of us had grievances or objections. What citizens care about are solutions to the problems they face in their everyday lives,” he said.
It should be noted that, as announced via press release, the former Prime Minister submitted a petition to the Supreme Court prosecutor requesting a full investigation into his targeting by the Predator spyware. In the petition, among other things, Mr. Samaras states that he has repeatedly and publicly requested answers from the government on the matter, without receiving any response to date.
On Antonis Samaras’ video
Later in the briefing, when asked again about Antonis Samaras in relation to a new video in which he criticizes the government and Dora Bakoyannis, government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis stated that the answer comes from citizens themselves, as reflected in polling numbers and election results.
“We are not going to sit here and comment on this kind of statement every single day. On television, we often see reruns that draw huge ratings — but the same doesn’t hold true in politics,” he noted, pointedly comparing the former Prime Minister’s TikTok videos to the television series Retiré.
