Speaking to New Democracy’s parliamentary group on Tuesday, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis admitted mistakes in the handling of the Vatopedi scandal that saw valuable state land traded for less valuable land held by the Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos.

The question, of course, now is why the conservative officials who have been found to be implicated in the controversial land swap have refrained from stepping down.

It’s hard to understand how they can possibly duck their responsibilities when the implicated ministers – Minister of State Theodoros Roussopoulos and Merchant Marine Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis – have already quit and when Parliament’s investigative committee actually mentions them by name.

Sure, it would make more sense if the premier had sacked the officials himself – quite a long time ago in fact.

But still, they should possess enough sensitivity to facilitate the process.

And needless to say, when we talk about resignations we mean real resignations, not cheap publicity stunts.