“I am shocked because I am the first pan-European MEP who has been detected trying to be trapped by such heavy software. That is why, while some in Greece want to play it down, the New York Times had an extensive article as did other major news networks. If she the complaint was made by Mr. Mitsotakis or a former Prime Minister, what would have happened today?”, said the president of PASOK-Movement for Change in an extensive interview with the television station of Heraklion, CRETA TV.
Nikos Androulakis noted that things are very serious and that this does not concern him, but concerns Democracy in the country.
“Politicians come and go. Parties are sometimes strong and sometimes weak. What remains is the quality of Democracy, Transparency, the ability of every citizen to live in an environment of justice,” Mr. Androulakis emphasized.
For the meeting of the Institutions and Transparency Committee of the Parliament, the President of PASOK-Movement for Change stated that he expects the Greek Justice and the competent agencies to identify who is undermining the transparency and smooth functioning of the state.
“Yesterday we sent a letter as KO asking for a meeting of the relevant Committee on Institutions and Transparency of the Parliament and in fact Mr. Mitsotakis responded positively and to speed it up. We do not pay the secret services of our country, neither to be monitored nor to be told that we are not being monitored. We pay them to tell us who is trying to monitor us. This is the essence of tomorrow’s discussion and the effort we will make as a faction in the next period. Who are the ones who have had the audacity and feel empowered to have such practices in our country”, he specifically emphasized.
He explained that the appeal to the Court and the institutional prominence of the issue serve a dual purpose:
“The first goal is for our Republic to function without shadows. Such issues must be brought to light because the one who had the audacity to take such an initiative and try to trap the phone of a candidate for the leader of the third parliamentary party, means that he is not afraid that he will be punished. I will do everything I can to punish him. It is not possible that among 27 countries in the EU and 701 MEPs, more than 1/3 have been checked and something like this is found in a MEP from Greece. It is not personal. It is a matter of Democracy and respect for my country and our people, for the world to know the truth and not to be afraid that something similar could happen to anyone.
Second objective: Europe must take legislative initiatives. These machines cannot be sold to oligarchs and secret services unchecked. From what I have learned from my lawyers and associates in the US there are rules. Not everyone can buy such heavy surveillance equipment,” emphasized Mr. Androulakis.
He dismissed claims that it was a simple hearing by explaining how the Predator malware in question works.
Nikos Androulakis commented on the natural gas crisis, criticizing both the SYRIZA and ND governments for a lack of foresight and argued that they tied the country to natural gas as an energy source.
“Rent, health, education are the inflexible expenses of every household” underlined Mr. Androulakis referring to the increased cost of living.
The president of PASOK-Movement for Change sharply commented on the statements of the Prime Minister about the exhaustion of the four-year term, saying that “If you were the Prime Minister and the Ministers appeared on the channels and gave election dates, would you look like a solid Prime Minister or a blackmailing Prime Minister?”, he said.
He claimed that the government put down their pencils, accusing the ND of how in this critical situation, with the impoverishment of the Greek people, with the energy crisis, with the war in Ukraine, instead of governing the country, it is holding pre-election events. “Mr. Mitsotakis will measure one thing. The energy solution that Europe will propose. If he considers that it does not give him a break until next year in the spring or summer, he will hold elections”, estimated Mr. Androulakis and defined the attitude of PASOK on the way to the elections.
“Mr. Tsipras wishes that we get along with the ND so that he can say: “Here is PASOK, it is not a center-left party”. What is Mr. Mitsotakis saying? What Mr. Babis Papadimitriou is saying: “PASOK will go with SYRIZA because it is not a party of the center”. It is in the interests of both parties that PASOK is a party that will play a supporting role. I did not become the leader of PASOK-Movement for Change for this reason. PASOK-Movement for Change will play leading role and they have to digest it very well.
Source: Capital
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