Opposition parties launched a fierce assault on the Greek government, accusing it of orchestrating a sweeping cover-up in the wiretapping scandal. The fiery debate followed a motion tabled by PASOK–Movement for Change to establish a parliamentary investigative committee to probe state surveillance practices.
The political clash unfolded in the wake of the Supreme Court’s controversial decision to archive the case.
Citing considerations of “foreign policy and national defense,” the ruling New Democracy administration deployed its parliamentary majority to block the committee’s formation. In protest of what they labeled “governmental machinations to bury the scandal,” lawmakers from PASOK–KINAL, SYRIZA–PS, the Communist Party (KKE), and New Left (Nea Aristera) staged a dramatic walkout from the plenum. The motion was overwhelmingly defeated by the ruling majority, garnering only six votes in favor and 155 against.
“Abusing democracy to retain power”
“If today’s session needed a title, it would be: ‘They are abusing Democracy to retain power,'” declared PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis. “Once again, they are degrading parliamentary processes because we have a Prime Minister who is weak and susceptible to blackmail.”
Androulakis accused Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of violating the Constitution. Concluding his speech, he stated, “We will not legitimize this theater of the absurd. We will leave you alone on your endless downward spiral, Mr. Mitsotakis,” before leading his party out of the chamber.
Dissension from within the Greek government: Samaras blasts Mitsotakis in wiretapping scandal
The administration also faced a blistering critique from within its own broader political family. Former conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras broke ranks, dealing a heavy blow to Mitsotakis’ handling of the crisis.
“Today will be recorded as yet another link in the long chain of opacity that Mr. Mitsotakis has collected,” Samaras stated sharply. “Is there any other government in the world that wouldn’t turn heaven and earth upside down to uncover what happened? Especially for reasons of national security! One that wouldn’t order its state services to tear everything apart to find the truth? And yet, there is one: the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis.”
Accusations of blackmail and complicity
SYRIZA leader Sokratis Famellos turned his focus to cabinet ministers who were reportedly targeted by the spyware, telling them, “You are either being blackmailed or you are complicit.” Famellos added that “it took two years for a misdemeanor court to stand up for democracy and prove that the emperor has no clothes,” while accusing the entire New Democracy parliamentary group of being “accomplices in burying the truth.”
Joining the chorus of condemnation, Communist Party (KKE) General Secretary Dimitris Koutsoumbas attacked the government’s track record on transparency. “Covering up scandals is your favorite daily occupation,” Koutsoumbas remarked. “You wake up every morning thinking, ‘What do we have to cover up today?’ And once again, the wiretapping scandal takes center stage.”
Related: Wiretapping Scandal in Greece: Paper Names Dozens Under Surveillance
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