Government shrugs off Tsipras’ phone tap reference
The government on Thursday refused to pick up the gauntlet thrown down by SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras regarding the wiretapping issue.
Tsipras made issue of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ reference to a “wiretapping scandal” during the political party leaders’ debate on Wednesday night.
Leaving the headquarters of SYRIZA on Thursday, he attacked the PM, saying, “For the first time, Mitsotakis admitted in public that there is a wiretapping scandal and that there were no national reasons for the wiretapping.”
However, government spokesman Akis Skertsos noted, “What I have to say in relation to the prime minister’s reference to the wiretapping scandal is that he was referring to the Economist publication and a report which noted that Greece has moved up 14 places in the rating index.” He added, “The reference was to the Economist and was not a political characterization.” As for the “national reasons” for the monitoring of PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis, which the PM said during the debate did not exist, Skertsos said, “Since the legal surveillance did not continue, it follows that there was no question of national danger from Mr Androulakis.”
The government dismissed Tsipras’ stance as an attempt to weaponize the wiretapping issue just before the elections “in the absence of positions” while stressing “that this debate has been exhausted and has gone the way of justice.”
In the town of Trikala on Thursday, Mitstotakis expressed his satisfaction at the result of the debate, focusing on the fact that it became clear that New Democracy has a specific proposal and on the other hand there is no counterproposal. “What did the debate show? That there is essentially one credible political proposal for governing the country today: the proposal of New Democracy. On the other hand, there is a ‘progressive mess,’” he said.
