Dora Bakoyannis has called on Deputy Minister of Rural Development Makarios Lazaridis to step aside over the controversy surrounding his academic degree, saying it’s clear that the process did not follow the rules and has already taken a toll on the ruling party.
Speaking on TV station MEGA, Bakoyannis stressed that the issue is causing both political damage and internal unease. “This story is very bad. It has a cost for us and has left us greatly upset, both at the level of the parliamentary group and the party,” she said. “We are talking about something that happened 20 years ago. It is clear that it was not handled properly, and I think everyone now accepts that.”
“He should facilitate the prime minister”
Bakoyannis was blunt in her assessment of how Lazaridis has dealt with the situation. “Makarios Lazaridis has been a party official for many years. I don’t think he handled this well for himself,” she said, adding that developments have now reached a critical point.
Asked directly whether he should resign, her answer was unequivocal: “Yes.” “He should facilitate the prime minister and the party,” she said, calling on him to step aside in order to relieve pressure on Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the government.
“I have been frightened by the toxicity”
Beyond the immediate controversy, Bakoyannis also sounded the alarm over the tone of political debate in Greece.
“The level of toxicity right now is so high that, after so many years in politics, I have been frightened,” she said.
She described scenes in Parliament where extreme accusations are exchanged, raising concerns about how far rhetoric has escalated.
“You reach a point where you hear in Parliament ‘you are pedophiles, you are murderers.’ My grandchildren hear people say to their grandmother ‘you are a murderer,’ ‘you are a pedophile.’ Seriously? Can politics reach this point?” she said.
Source: tovima.com
