‘We will not allow the cover-up,’ SYRIZA said. ‘Degeneration and populism have their limits, Mr Marinakis,’ PASOK said, addressing government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis.

‘The government’s “no” to a preliminary inquiry into the OPEKEPE scandal constitutes another cover-up operation,’ SYRIZA said in a statement.

‘They refuse even to investigate, despite the European Public Prosecutor’s Office case file, which records evidence of offences and clear political responsibility for interventions, alterations and preferential treatment that resulted in damage to European funds. They draw their own “conclusion” in advance and attempt to close a serious case before it is even investigated.

‘At the same time as they voted to lift the immunity of MPs, citing the investigation by the judiciary, they deny the obvious when it comes to ministers: the preliminary inquiry. Why? What are they afraid of and what do they want to hide?

‘These are not “long-standing pathologies”, but specific practices with a political character and responsibilities of the current government.

‘SYRIZA will not allow the cover-up. The truth will come to light.’

PASOK also issued a statement, saying that ‘after five days of guilty silence, the government spokesperson announced today that they will once again prevent the judiciary from investigating their ministers, for whom a new case file has arrived concerning the corruption scandal at OPEKEPE’.

The party added: ‘Meanwhile, in the wake of the revelations about the Supreme Court prosecutor who, as supervisor of the National Intelligence Service (EYP), had signed off on the surveillance of 11 people who were also targeted by Predator, including Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis, Mr Marinakis found everything to have been done properly.’

PASOK concluded: ‘Degeneration and populism have their limits, Mr Marinakis.’

‘The New Democracy government, which has chosen to place the “far-right chanters” of LAOS at the forefront of its ranks and was glorified in the anti-memorandum squares in 2010, is in no position to issue political lectures,’ PASOK said.

The party said that ‘New Democracy and Kyriakos Mitsotakis were elected on the central promise of healing the wounds in the institutions’.

‘Instead, this is a government mired in scandals, corruption and clientelism, treating the state as its personal spoils. To such an extent, in fact, that even government MPs are revolting against the over-concentration of powers in small circles inside the Maximos Mansion,’ it added.

PASOK also commented on the government’s ‘lectures on toxicity’, calling them ‘the shortest joke’ when they come from ‘a government that has admitted it has an online arm of propaganda and character assassination, funded by private individuals and by the taxes of the Greek people, since it pays its “fundraisers” as seconded employees in ministries’.

‘The epitome of ethics and excellence,’ PASOK added.

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