The leader of PASOK, Nikos Androulakis, launched a direct attack on Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis over the OPEKEPE scandal during an interview with SKAI anchorwoman Sia Kossioni on Friday (04.07.2025), held within the framework of the ‘Dialogues of Nisyros’ conference. Androulakis emphasized that ‘Mr. Simandrakos sent two letters to Maximos Mansion; six OPEKEPE presidents resigned and five Agriculture Ministers were replaced—did the Prime Minister hear anything?’
When questioned about the corruption scandal and whether the PM ‘knew,’ Androulakis listed several instances where PASOK had raised concerns over the years. He noted that in 2020, two parliamentary questions were submitted; in 2023, he addressed the issue directly in the budget debate; in 2024, three times in Parliament and once from Crete before the organization came under European supervision. In 2025, he submitted an urgent question to the Prime Minister warning about a potential massive fine.
Androulakis stressed, ‘I told him so many times—are you really asking if the Prime Minister knew? He knew from us, he knew from the six OPEKEPE presidents he himself changed. He bears huge political responsibility. The one-billion-euro fine carries the Prime Minister’s name. He knew—and allowed it. A ‘blue gang’ has looted European funds.’
He also criticized the government’s argument of long-standing structural problems, stating, ‘Understanding that those defending this ND scandal are just some orphans of Karatzapheris and other janissaries. We had ten million sheep and goats in 2019, eighteen million in 2025—can we still speak of chronic pathologies? Just basic math!’
Androulakis added that while Greece had previously faced fines from the European Commission for institutional missteps, never before had there been a fine plus a prosecution file from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office accusing a ‘blue criminal organization’—a term not used by him but found in the indictment—of devouring EU funds with ministerial protection.
He concluded by accusing the government of imposing a memorandum-style austerity on the primary sector through subsidy cuts, likening it to the measures brought by former PM Karamanlis. Additionally, he criticized the government’s foreign policy failures, particularly regarding Syria, Libya, the Sinai Monastery, and the cable-cutting incident near Kasos, all pointing to a lack of strategic foresight.