Opposition party officials have decided to pursue the case of Makarios Lazaridis to the very end, reacting strongly on Easter Tuesday after the deputy minister of Agricultural Development’s statements about his studies, his… “beauty,” and “the laziness of leftists.”
It is characteristic that Dionysis Temponneras emphasized in his interview that the prime minister should have sent Makarios Lazaridis home for expressing the view that “leftists are lazy,” effectively insulting a large portion of Greek society.
Why Kyriakos Mitsotakis cannot dismiss Makarios Lazaridis from government – What SYRIZA & New Left say
In Thursday’s parliamentary session on the rule of law, the discussion is expected to focus, among other things, on the issue of excellence and the Lazaridis case, with party leaders demanding his dismissal.
However, SYRIZA and New Left say that the prime minister cannot dismiss him from government, as he was previously a close collaborator and among the officials who have consistently supported him. At the same time, they believe that Kyriakos Mitsotakis is trapped, given that Makarios Lazaridis replaced deputy minister of Agricultural Development Kellas, who is being investigated for the OPEKEPE scandal along with other New Democracy officials.
As they note, if the prime minister “expelled” Makarios Lazaridis from government over the degree issue, the government’s image would become even more problematic, as after the operational state that was discredited due to OPEKEPE, the government of the excellent would also go down the drain.
SYRIZA’s investigation
From the investigation conducted by SYRIZA officials -particularly Pavlos Polakis- and New Left, as well as from what Makarios Lazaridis himself said, the following issues emerge.
According to SYRIZA MP for Chania Pavlos Polakis, Makarios Lazaridis “enrolled, as he says, in 1987 and graduated in 1992! The ‘College of Southeastern Europe’ in Delaware, which gave him his ‘diploma,’ WAS ONLY FOUNDED IN 1991!!!! Previously, it appears to have operated elsewhere as the ‘American College of Southeastern Europe’ BUT only during the years 1987-1989!!! Then it closed!!! Makarios Lazaridis mentioned in his interview that he had been hired as a political appointee while the Official Government Gazette clearly states his hiring for a VACANT PERMANENT POSITION as a ‘specialist scientist’!”
New Left leader Gavriil Sakellaridis noted that “for this position, according to Left officials, not only a degree is required but also a postgraduate degree according to the 1994 law. The position of ‘specialist scientist’ which is CLEARLY paid better than other positions (e.g., scientific collaborator) requires a master’s or doctoral degree, while the deputy minister of Agricultural Development didn’t even have an undergraduate degree!”
For his part, in a post addressing the deputy minister of Agricultural Development, Pavlos Polakis pointed out: “You told LIES that supposedly in 2007 the qualifications required by the 1994 law were not in effect and that they supposedly changed later. Because to this day the specific provision of that specific law HAS NOT CHANGED!!!”
At the same time, Makarios Lazaridis publicly argued that “in 2007 you could work as a political appointee even with this certificate of studies, despite the fact that it was not recognized. Because political appointees are appointed through political selection (by MPs, ministers), they don’t go through ASEP, and consequently such strict control as for permanent employees was not required.”
Additionally, both parties raise the question of which university the specific college was affiliated with and which department he completed.
However, another issue emerged, as in a post Makarios Lazaridis had appeared to have graduated from a public university: “Those of us who have graduated from public university,” he had characteristically written. When asked, however, he said it was simply a spelling error and he wrote “m” instead of “n.”
