Aristos Doxiadis' tenure as Deputy Minister for Development, responsible for Research and Innovation, lasted only a day. On Sunday afternoon, he announced his resignation after a series of opposition allegations, both related to the company “Apollo” and the numerous resignations at the General Secretariat for Research and Innovation, where he had been vice president.

Oposition demands resignation over offensive remarks and alleged failures

The opposition party SYRIZA had called for Doxiadis’ resignation, issuing a detailed statement on Saturday:

SYRIZA’s Statement:

“The New Democracy government is indifferent to society and continues to provoke it. This was made clear by yesterday’s offensive reshuffle, which included the appointment of Aristos Doxiadis, a close advisor to PM Mitsotakis, as Deputy Minister. Doxiadis, known for his offensive remarks towards citizens and protesters reacting to the Tempe tragedy—referring to them as ‘pretend to be serious’, ‘conspiracy theorists’, and ‘idiots’ on social media—has also failed in his role. He served as vice president of the General Secretariat for Research and Innovation (ESETEK), where eight out of its fifteen members, mostly university professors, resigned in recent months.

Involvement in price–fixing scandal and significant debts

SYRIZA’s statement continues:

“But it gets worse. Doxiadis is also reportedly involved in a major price-fixing scandal related to foreign language books. The PM must answer whether it is true that Doxiadis was the legal representative of the company ‘Apollo’, which was twice condemned by the Hellenic Competition Committee (in decisions 452 and 455 of 2009) for practices amounting to abuse of collective dominance, with large fines imposed.

He must also explain whether Doxiadis was associated with this company, which, after its claims were rejected by the Athens Administrative Court of Appeals in 2011, went bankrupt, leaving debts to suppliers, the state, and Greek taxpayers—debts that remain unpaid today, with Apollo listed as one of the major debtors of the state in 2024, owing over 10 million euros.

If all this is true, Prime Minister Mitsotakis must immediately dismiss his new Deputy Minister for Research and Innovation. Otherwise, he will confirm that the cartel-run government has now officially acquired a political representative within its ranks.”

Resignation announcement: Doxiadis cites political toxicity

In a statement on Sunday, Doxiadis announced his resignation, citing “political toxicity.”

“I have decided to resign. The unethical attacks launched against me by the opposition, with baseless accusations from the very first day of my swearing-in, have forced me to confront harsh political realities. To those who have accused me over the ‘Apollo’ company affair, I respond that I was tried and acquitted by a criminal court in 2013, which clearly absolved me of any charges related to the accusations now being made against me. I must add that since the court concluded, I have had no issues with any authority, despite several changes in government. Therefore, the allegations are unfounded.”

“Since I do not want to waste my life on such disputes, I have decided to resign from the position of Deputy Minister for Research and Innovation, both for personal peace of mind and to protect the government and the portfolio I was entrusted with from this witch-hunt.”

“I sincerely thank the PM for his honorary proposal for this crucial portfolio for the future. I regret that political toxicity prevents active citizens from contributing to collective efforts for progress.”

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