Paul Marinakis accuses PASOK of retreating into the dialogue on Independent Authorities and political responsibility for the institutional pending.
Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis took a high profile stance on the procedures for selecting the heads of the Independent Authorities, describing a complicated political and institutional setting that, he claims, has led to a deadlock due to a lack of understanding between government and opposition. He spoke of contacts and consultations with PASOK that, according to the government, had resulted in specific proposals, which, however, were not completed institutionally, as a result -as he noted- that critical Independent Authorities remain without a head. At the same time, he was strongly critical of the way PASOK managed the process, attributing its final stance to political expediency and intra-party balances, while he stressed that the government moved on the basis of the Constitution and the need for inter-party consensus to ensure the functioning of the institutions.
“We are talking about the election of Independent Authorities. Top process. Do we agree that it is a top process; do we agree that the fact that they are headless, i.e. they have not been in charge for four years for two and 1.5 years for the third is a problem for democracy? Do we agree that there is a need to vote for a head? Where are the heads of the Independent Authorities elected? By the Conference of Presidents. There are 29 participating. So he needs 3/5 agreement from the 29? Can there be a majority without the New Republic, which has 16 out of 29? It’s a no-brainer. Obviously it can’t be done with just the New Republic. So what is needed? One of the other parties to come to an understanding, as the constitution calls for, with the New Republic and the New Republic to come to an understanding. We will not leave this unanswered. Let’s see who is lying and who is telling the truth and why Mr. Nikos Androulakis is doing so. And why he is hiding behind it. Because what has been done is clear. So here comes New Democracy, the government majority through the vice president of the government, I speak openly, Kostis Hatzidakis, obviously in consultation with the prime minister and our MPs, and says, to talk with PASOK to find the rest of the 16 votes that we are short of, so that the country can have a head of the independent authorities. In order to find the rest of the 16 votes we are lacking, so that the country can have independent authorities,” Deputy Prime Minister and government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis told OREN, on the government’s communications with PASOK on the heads of the independent authorities.
Items about Androulakis
“So, Mr. Androulakis, with the deputy prime minister in the last three months, I don’t know if he has spoken 30 times, he has certainly spoken more than 20 times. Calls. There are messages,” he added.
“After many conversations and sending resumes, as the House rightly did and requested and 45, I think, resumes were sent for all three positions, the two parties, which is necessary for the Constitution, came up with two names. One that our parliamentary group wanted a little bit more, Mr. Makridimitris, and one that PASOK says, Mrs. Sygouna. Why does what PASOK says not make sense? Let us call a spade a spade. When someone who has 16 votes comes to agree with someone who has 2 votes out of 29, is it logical for the democratic function of someone who has 16 votes and represents a people behind him, are these 16 votes not pips or do they translate into the will of the people, the democratic will, to accept two names of choice exclusively, without disparaging any of the people? What is the reality? The reality is that after all these communications and the exchange of calls, in an institutional way, I repeat, which Mr. Androulakis did very well and communicated, Mr. Androulakis was afraid that his new potential partners will “scold” him in parliament for talking to the “evil” Right. PASOK, through Mr Androulakis, had agreed with the government, through Mr Hadjidakis, on two names. That is why Mr. Kaklamanis, the Speaker of the Parliament, the Speaker of the Parliament, did not go crazy, he read two names. If they had agreed on other names, he would have read other names. Yes, Mr. Kaklamanis, if he knew that these names were not the result of an agreement, he would not have read these names. Mr Androulakis, therefore, either because he wanted to make a fuss about the order of the Supreme Court prosecutor, or because he did not want to show his new potential partners, Mrs Konstantopoulou, with whom he has co-signed a motion of no confidence, or those who will go to Mr Tsipras’ party, that he is talking to this ‘evil’ government, he backed out. Can I say something? And his right. And he took the responsibility of having headless Independent Authorities. You know what it was that crossed the red line and overflowed the cup and we had this reaction? That he made this retreat, because he stepped into two boats, and on the same day he accused us of a coup and institutional aberration,” he said.
As for the proposal by PASOK to set up a committee of inquiry into the wiretapping, Mr. Marinakis said “yesterday Mr. Androulakis went beyond the limits he had set so far, he took it very low and this is one of the main reasons, not the main reason, of this popular image of PASOK. I repeat, Mr Androulakis is the sixth most suitable prime minister and his party is second. Mr. Dillian is a man who has been convicted in the first instance because he was indicted, he has appealed, so there is a presumption of innocence and he will be tried in the second instance in his capacity as a second degree defendant. He was found accused because the Supreme Court prosecutor’s office, which was talked about as a “cover-up”, came out with an order and after saying what it said about the responsibility of the state, some people may not like it, but that’s what the judiciary said and it was confirmed by a third Supreme Court justice a few days ago, referred these four people to trial. We cannot take, we cannot cherry pick the judiciary’s decisions. Very soon, after we study the actual facts of the proposal, because the motive is clear, there has already been an inquiry, PASOK wants instead of discussing our programs and what we are doing in the economy, in foreign policy, they want us to discuss inquiries and preliminary investigations, the motive is clear, it is not the truth.”
Other issues
“What we say will be the result of fact-checking, it won’t be long before we answer and the legal facts. We will answer on the basis of the combination that will be made, that is, the combined thinking that will take place between the factual data and the legal reality,” he stressed.
When asked about the pre-trial commission and the government’s stance, the government spokesman stressed that the case of Mr. Livanos and the case of Ms. Arabatzi do not at any point indicate the commission of any illegal act.
Also asked whether the government would want Tsipras’ party to be the second party, Mr. Marinakis said: “I don’t think we are playing on the same field.”
“Especially a former prime minister, I will never underestimate him. Mr Tsipras was elected prime minister. I believe that what he said, he did not mean what he said. So, a lot of people voted for him then – because he was deceived in the context, I mean, of political deception, but this is a subjective, my opinion – so I don’t think that the success or failure, in the elections, of the New Democracy, of the prime minister, depends on who comes second,”
“We are the first country in terms of job creation: 600,000 people found jobs. This is a policy of many ministries and a result of the investments that have come into the country. Secondly, we are one of the first countries in terms of growth rates of disposable income and personal consumption. This means that we are going some distance, but we have to go the rest of the way. And third, all these successes have not been achieved in an environment of borrowing from future generations as many previous governments have done. They have merit,” the government spokesman added.
