Clash of political leaders in Parliament – K. Mitsotakis opens his ‘papers’

By Dimitris Gatsiou

The hot political August. Or, in a different version, the…mother of the battles for government and opposition, with the main issue of surveillance being the main focus. In a Plenary setting and at eleven in the morning, the political leaders are expected to cross their…swords in a particularly high-profile parliamentary meeting, as has already become clear from the exchange of fire on both sides, during the last three weeks. All this, in the wake of the explosive atmosphere in the Institutions and Transparency Committee for the appointment of Themistocles Demiris to the post of EYP commander, with the government targeting the leaks that occurred during the meeting and officials noting that “first we We don’t want any shadow left in this case.”

According to information, the prime minister will come to the Parliament with specific main axes, on which he will structure his interventions. Mr. Mitsotakis, therefore:

-He will talk about today and will refer to the need to investigate the case, respecting the current institutional framework.

-He will point out that the government and state authorities have nothing to do with the Predator.

– It will refer to the chronic pathologies that must be examined for the future as well. That is, what must be done, so that we are not faced with similar cases and that the services fulfill their national role while respecting the democratic rules.

“The prime minister will come to this discussion with two main axes. First of all, the determination of the issue of the legal connection of Mr. Androulakis in its correct dimensions. And secondly, what must actually be done, from now on, so that not to be faced in the future with similar cases, always taking into account that we are talking about an extremely critical arm and part of the operation and security of our country”, was the disgust of the government representative, during the press briefing, which gave the mark of the speech of Mr. Mitsotakis. As actors comment, the government’s position regarding the investigation to be undertaken by the Parliament on the Androulakis case is clear. “Certainly it must concern the present. It must include the investigation of both the connection of the phone of the president of PASOK, in the context provided by the law and the regulation of the Parliament, as well as the operation of malicious software, in the context of ensuring the privacy of communications. At the same time, however, persons who had the responsibility of managing the EYP in the past should also be heard. And this not for compensation, but to identify chronic pathologies and formulate improvement proposals for the future. In other words, the present must be investigated , as well as the past to draw useful conclusions and make necessary decisions for the future. So that the agencies can effectively play their important role in protecting national security, strictly adhering to the rules of the rule of law,” they note. At the same time, New Democracy will not submit a proposal for a second Commission of Inquiry. “Thus, we honor the opportunity we gave to the parliamentary minority, with its proposal adopted during the last constitutional review, to proceed with the establishment of Commissions of Inquiry”, is the message being broadcast.

Explosive political climate

As mentioned above, the government staff, by closing the curtain on the meeting of the Institutions and Transparency Committee for the appointment of Mr. Demiris to the post of EYP commander, is launching an attack on the official opposition for the leaks. Mr. Oikonomou spoke of a “top notch of institutional disrespect” and an “anomaly plan”. “It seems that some, who pretend to be the guardians of Democracy and legality, do not miss the opportunity to brutally attack the leading institutions of our State, in order to mislead public opinion, damage the national interest, and obtain temporary party benefits. government will do what is constitutionally permissible, in order to safeguard the processes and protect the State, but also the credibility of our State…The government, with a sense of responsibility, is determined to resist and thwart the plans of irregularity that various strike” , he said. As executives note, the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament in Article 43A, provide that discussions on the activity of the EYP are confidential and its members are committed to maintain this confidentiality even after the end of their term of office. “The Regulation was flagrantly violated. It was thus clearly seen, on the one hand, that the invocation of the institutional procedures by SYRIZA is completely pretentious, and on the other hand, that all it cares about is the unanswered, and therefore uncontrolled, publicity, as the responsible and named institutional bodies cannot they answer without committing a crime. It thus proves that the goal of SYRIZA is to create a fraudulent narrative, which cannot be answered on the merits by anyone who respects the institutions of our Republic, as this requires the disclosure of information from secret meetings and goes against the legal procedures”, they point out.