SYRIZA leader attacks ‘government of scandals’ and blames Mitsotakis personally for wiretapping, OPEKEPE and Tempi

During a visit to Lagadas, near Thessaloniki, Famellos met the mayor, Niki Andreadou, and then toured the local market, where he spoke with residents and local traders about rising prices, the effects of the conflicts in the Middle East and developments in the OPEKEPE case.

Referring to the economic situation, Famellos argued that households had come under severe pressure, saying that compared with 2019 the prices of many products had more than doubled, while meat prices had tripled. He said immediate measures were needed to strengthen incomes, including the restoration of a 13th pension and 13th salary, the strengthening of collective agreements, and measures to tackle high prices, such as suspending VAT on food, reducing excise duty on fuel and enforcing effective market controls.

He also launched a direct attack on the government, saying: ‘Mr Mitsotakis neither wants nor can implement measures so that people can have a better Easter and a better prospect. That is why it is urgent, alongside the widespread problem of corruption and entanglement that exists in the country, for this government to leave as soon as possible, so that there can be a progressive way out and Greeks can live better.’

The SYRIZA leader attributed personal responsibility to the prime minister for the scandals that, he said, were being revealed daily, and called for broad support for the no-confidence motion his party has brought forward. In that context, he said: ‘With extreme hypocrisy, the prime minister is trying to escape the crucial question. Who was responsible for the scandal in OPEKEPE? Who was responsible for the wiretapping? Who was responsible for the meddling in the Tempi crime? Who is responsible for all these scandals that are being revealed daily?’

Continuing his criticism, he said: ‘Because the government is a government of scandals and defendants. It is a government of defendants and a parliamentary group of defendants. This situation cannot continue any longer. Mr Mitsotakis personally bears responsibility for the wiretapping, for OPEKEPE and for the Tempi “scam”. He himself is responsible for having set up this regime of entanglement, a para-state of corruption so that the blue predators can steal citizens’ livelihoods and people cannot even celebrate Easter. There must be broad support as soon as possible for the no-confidence motion that SYRIZA has placed before the public, because we must remove them. There is one answer. The progressive world will have a voice, it will have a proposal, and SYRIZA has a specific proposal for a way out of the crisis.’

He concluded by saying that the party’s aim was to offer the country an alternative progressive solution.

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