Former Minister of Rural Development Makis Voridis fires back at opposition targeting through his statement to parapolitika.gr, just hours after completing his testimony before Parliament’s investigative committee on the OPEKEPE case. Voridis emphasizes that the case file sent to Parliament contains no conversations of his own, only references by third parties to his name. Regarding the technical solution, he reiterates that it “was a stable and completely legal tool since 2015” and adds that this is proven by the fact that “in 2020 it was applied again, in exactly the same way, by those who today claim it was allegedly illegal.”
Read: OPEKEPE investigative committee: Clash between Voridis and Kazamias over Varras
He also speaks of an attempt to damage his political identity and “not to reveal any actual violation.” Voridis makes clear that the decisions taken aimed “exclusively at ensuring legality, the Organization’s functionality, and uninterrupted payment of subsidies to producers and livestock farmers.”
Full statement by Makis Voridis to parapolitika.gr
“With my appearance today before the Investigative Committee, it became absolutely clear what the real picture is regarding OPEKEPE’s operation during my tenure. The evidence I presented leaves no room for misinterpretation. Reality cannot be distorted, and today it was depicted with absolute clarity. The technical solution, which some attempt to question retroactively, was a stable and completely legal tool since 2015. And this is proven in the clearest way: in 2020 it was applied again, in exactly the same way, by those who today claim it was allegedly illegal. This contradiction cannot be hidden or explained. It reveals with absolute clarity that the allegations are not based on actual facts.
My targeting is not based on any factual evidence, but serves a specific political plan by the opposition. The case file contains not a single conversation of mine, not one piece of data concerning my actions or communications; only third parties mentioning my name among themselves, which creates no criminal or substantial issue.
With 18 years of political career, with tens of thousands of people communicating with me, it’s obvious that many invoke my name without us ever having spoken or met. A “case” cannot be built based on third-party gossip. This is an attempt to damage my political identity, not to reveal any actual violation. The truth is clear: the decisions taken aimed exclusively at ensuring legality, the Organization’s functionality, and uninterrupted payment of subsidies to producers and livestock farmers. The attempt to distort this reality collapses before the facts themselves.”
