The Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister and government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis, during the briefing with political editors, announced that there will be an announcement of the new general secretaries after noon, emphasizing that “the Prime Minister has said that the times have passed when candidates for parliament, that is, politicians who were not elected, were appointed to general secretary positions.
This is a given and after 5 years we have seen it. From what I know, today’s announcement will confirm what the Prime Minister has said, without this meaning that a candidate for parliament is a priori unsuitable to be utilized in some position.”
Mr. Marinakis was also called to comment on the post by Stefanos Kasselakis regarding Turkey’s gratitude to Greece for the search operations of the Italian ship off the coast of Kasos:
“This morning, the Foreign Minister replied to all issues in Parliament. And while he has responded clearly, Mr. Kasselakis insists. Either the information from the official opposition isIncomplete and hasty or what is happening is very dangerous.
Mr. Gerapetritis stated in Parliament:
‘There is clear misinformation about Kasos. There was a planned Italian ship. The program was completed absolutely. There was no concession whatsoever. It conducted its search in Greece’s maritime EEZ. No permission was ever requested from Turkey nor was there any recognition of Turkish sovereign rights.’
He reiterated these points—because he has said them in earlier interviews— and the Foreign Minister has answered at all levels, and the reproduction of this propaganda and this logic of misinformation is not opposition to the government, it is not opposition to New Democracy; it is detrimental to the country. And I kindly ask that since there are related answers and substantiated ones from the relevant authorities, this tactic should stop. Thank God, there are many other issues on which we can disagree, and of course, we await the opposition’s proposals on all matters. I do not remember any political leadership of the Foreign Ministry ever making so many briefings to the opposition, which we, in fact, have an obligation to do.”
Regarding the Justice Ministry’s processing for changes to the asset declaration law, Mr. Marinakis noted:
“This is the main one of the fake news this week. It is the next episode of the so-called privatization of water, the six-day workweek, and the supposed ban on covering the debts.”
Regarding the new revelations on the matter of surveillance, the government spokesperson emphasized: “There is absolute trust in the Justice system. The case is being investigated at the highest level. It is good—because I saw some statements from political leaders—to learn at some point to trust the Justice system.”
As for the case of Pavlos Polakis, he commented: “Mr. Kasselakis could write that Pavlos Polakis is an idea, and ideas are not erased. This is a completely pretextual expulsion that may not have happened had we not had the human reaction of Ms. Linou. Mr. Kasselakis, in his post, said, ‘let’s keep up appearances within Parliament and outside of it, if we can, let’s bury them two meters underground.’ It is not Mr. Polakis’s problem; the stance of the party leader would be more sincere if he kept him in the parliamentary group. There is no sincere apology from SYRIZA; it is obvious that this is SYRIZA’s dominant ideology.”
Regarding the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, he expressed his personal opinion, saying that “I didn’t particularly like what I saw.”