There is no question of party discipline in tomorrow’s vote,” the Prime Minister’s Director of Digital Communications pointed out, Nikos Romanos, in an interview with ERTnews Radio 105.8.
As he explained, “there is also no question of any message,” responding to the possibility that a large number of deputies not to vote for all the immunity waivers and whether this could be perceived as a message to the government.
Mr. Romanos said there are specific facts:
“One is that the MEPs mentioned in the documentationand for whom a waiver of immunity is being sought have themselves requested that it be granted. Beyond that, there’s another issue.
If someone says they’re voting against a waiver of immunity for one person and not another, it’s like implying that the latter is more guilty. It’s a bad position for an MP to assign such weight. That is my personal view.
In any case, it is a matter of personal weighting for each Member, and that is perfectly respectable. So there is no question of a result that can be used by the opposition.”
On the resignation of Lazaridis
Referring to the resignation of Mr. Lazaridis’ resignation, he spoke of manipulation of the case by the opposition and a “hypocritical attitude”.
“He came out, presented his folder and answered questions, which were largely created as a narrative by the opposition.
He eventually submitted his resignation to avoid creating communication issues for the government. That’s the bottom line,” he noted.
He added: “We’re talking about a case involving twenty years back and the hiring of a transferee. Everyone evaluates it however they want. But there is also the issue of conscientiousness and personal weight. In such cases, some choose to make it easier by resigning.
This does not mean that we should accept the view that we are all the same, nor should we be wagging our fingers at people who have been the lead in similar cases.”
He also made a comparison with the past: “I say this on the issue of incrimination. I remember under SYRIZA first-class ministers being without a degree.”
“We are different. That’s why such issues become major, but there’s also the civility of giving up. And this is not the first time this has happened,” he stressed.
About the timing of the resignation
In response to why the resignation was not made earlier, he noted:
“The resignation came after a series of explanations given by Mr. Lazaridis.
We were accused of elitism, of representing Oxford. The reality is that many of our officials have strong academic qualifications, but that does not mean that a politician’s worth is judged solely by their degree.
There are very good ministers with different levels of education. A minister and an MP are judged by their work.”
About the political agenda and OPEKEPE
About the news of the last weeks, Mr. Romanos admitted:
“Indeed, in recent weeks the government has not fully defined the political agenda. But I think that is changing.”
As he explained, the developments are linked to the leaks about the OPEKEPE:
“The way the leaks happened, it was logical that they would monopolize interest. Until then, we were setting the agenda with measures for accuracy and everyday life.”
And it ended up: “The anti-opposition expectations of toxicity have been dashed. That’s why we no longer see the same tension around the OPEKEPE dossier. What it turned out to be was that there was a communication “bubble”. We have to remind ourselves of what we have changed, highlight the reforms and the fight against the partisan state. The opposition is investing in communication because it has no counter-proposals.”
