Motion of censure: Mitsotakis brings three “files” to the political clash in Greek Parliament

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis seeks to broaden the agenda beyond the issues of democracy and the functioning of institutions in today’s clash in Parliament and picks up the gauntlet thrown to him by Alexis Tsipras, having prepared his own questions in response to the fierce attack on wiretapping. As much as the prime minister wants to identify the leader of SYRIZA with divisive speech and polarization, he himself will not avoid high tones and head-on attacks when he takes the floor of the Parliament at noon.

Mitsotakis has directly spoken about a parliamentary battle – an opportunity to make multiple comparisons of two four year terms: on the one hand his administration, “the years of economic respite but also of national dignity” as he claims, on the other hand the SYRIZA era “of lies and of taxes”.

Butter for the PM’s bread

The first “file” to be opened concerns the rule of law on SYRIZA, with “pressure” for the prime minister in the two ongoing special courts with two top party cadres accused, Nikos Pappas and Dimitris Papagelopoulos.

It is clear that what is coming through the courtroom about… black bags of money and for distribution for the so-called SYRIZAChannel or even the recent arrest for fraud of “Maximos Sarafis”, the former protected witness in the Novartis case, is currently butter to the bread of the government.

New Democracy will take advantage of the opportunity to put the squeeze on Tsipras, challenging him to break his silence on the developments concerning testimony in the special court. Accusing the leader of SYRIZA of “deafening silence”, the government representative Yiannis Economou has been asking a series of questions since yesterday, giving the spirit of Mitsotakis’s presence in parliament today: “What is he finally answering about the heavy complaints concerning his party, who was the mastermind behind this idiosyncratic money distribution headquarters, allegedly directed to the SYRIZA party, party officials, party media and party propaganda machines?”.

The National Intelligence EYP – Authority for Ensuring the Privacy of Communications – SYRIZA triangle

In the same “file” of Mitsotakis there is the story about the instrumentalization of the role of independent authorities, with first barbs from the prime minister aimed at the head of the Authority for Ensuring the Privacy of Communications-ADAE Christos Rammos, as he essentially questioned his independence. Besides, the government line is outlined in the question, as formulated by government sources, “which hands acted and how in the EYP – ADAE – SYRIZA triangle”.

In the government they insist on talking about “dirty networks” but without naming anyone. They talk about those who publish material, those who own it and those who transmit it, while it is specified that on the subject of wiretappings by National Intelligence Agency-EYP, Mitsotakis will try to raise the issue of goings on during the days of Tsipras in power: there were declassifications government officials and politicians, how is Tsipras positioned to monitor the KKE call center during the days of his government?

Evros and the international image of the country

The second and third “folder” of the prime minister essentially includes the fields – the most favorable for the ruling party, according to opinion polls -, in which the deepest comparisons are sought. In other words, beyond the style and ethos of the SYRIZA era, with the expectation (as well) that anti-SYRIZA feelings will be mobilized, the government wants to draw a deep line of distinction and comparison at the political level.

Mainly the international image of the country and even more so the foreign-defense policy are firmly in the foreground, something that will be reflected anew. The tones of Maximos are indicative of the “complex set up in Evros at the expense of Greece” while SYRIZA cadres insisted on a dead child “even when the relevant allegations have completely collapsed”. And together with the government’s persistent question to SYRIZA: “If they became government again, would they tear down the [border] fence?”.

No answers for the six wiretappings

Based on the three prime ministerial “files”, no answers are expected regarding the six persons for whom ADAE confirms monitoring by EYP, as the government on the one hand insists on referring to Justice for “all the answers”, while declaring that no such material was ever to the knowledge of the prime minister’s office .

Kyriakos Mitsotakis will once again defend the initiatives he took after last August (new institutional framework for EYP and malicious software, sackings), then trying to show that he places the emphasis on the anxieties and everyday problems of the citizens, as well as on drawing up a plan for the next day for the country.