“It is regrettable that we are forced to revisit the obvious for the umpteenth time, but today’s speech, the insults and the tone of Mr. Androulakis’ speech and his harsh language in Parliament leave no room for any more,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said in a statement.
“The leader of the opposition called the obvious answer I gave on the participation of New Democracy MPs, for whom immunity was lifted, in the party’s ballot papers a “dilemma of Maximou”.
I am posting the following, not because I believe that the President of PASOK will take back what he unacceptably said, but so that people know the reality:
Firstly, from a simple reading of the transcript of the briefing of political editors, it is clear that I received a question as to whether anything had changed as regards the participation of the Members in question following the procedure for waiving their immunity, and I replied automatically that ‘there is no question as regards their participation on the ballot papers’.
Second, only during the current parliamentary term, the immunity of 7 PASOK MPs has been lifted. If we adopt Mr. Androulakis’ abject logic, then we must conclude that the participation of these 7 MPs on the PASOK ballot papers in the next elections will be the result of “de-election”;
Thirdly, on every occasion, all government officials, with the Prime Minister leading the way, have stressed how important it is to clear the cases quickly. This in itself reveals that for the government and the government majority it is important for the judiciary to be subjected to a first instance trial before the holding of the 2027 national elections,” he says, concluding:
“As much as Mr. Androulakis is pressured by his low poll performance and the pressures within the party, he should never forget his institutional role, especially when addressing the national delegation.”
