Adonis Georgiadis, Greece’s Health Minister, has escalated his public clash with former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in a lengthy social media post—responding to criticism over his recent allegation that Tsipras accepted money to vote in favour of the 2019 criminal code reforms. The controversy stems from Georgiadis’s on-air claim on Action24, where he accused Tsipras of having been financially incentivised to extend parliamentary sessions by a week ahead of the June 2019 elections—just long enough for the new penal codes to pass.
‘No explanation, no accountability’
Georgiadis insists Tsipras has offered ‘not even the slightest explanation’ for his actions. ‘He hasn’t said anything—not a word—and he won’t,’ Georgiadis stated. ‘Because if he enters the discussion, he’ll have to explain why he did it. And as uncomfortable as this may sound: there is no other logical explanation for the “quid pro quo” against Prosecutor General Vassilis Kontonis—or for the money I referred to plainly—except what I’ve described.’
Questioning official silence
Referencing recent statements by senior Hellenic Police (ELAS) officials—who claimed the matter has been archived—Georgiadis drew a parallel with the wiretapping scandal, asking: ‘Weren’t the wiretapping allegations also archived? Twice? So why are they being revived? Is one archive “bad” and another “good”? Let them leave these issues alone.’
The timing of the penal code vote
Georgiadis underscored the unusual timing of the vote: after SYRIZA’s heavy defeat in the May 2019 European elections—losing 10 percentage points to Kyriakos Mitsotakis—Tsipras announced his resignation and called snap elections for 30 June. Yet the next day, he reversed course, pushing the vote to 7 July instead—allowing the outgoing parliament to approve the new criminal codes just days before the polls.
A key change in those codes downgraded active bribery from a felony to a misdemeanour. As a result, defendants facing trial for that offence were automatically acquitted—if five years had passed since the alleged act. Had the old code remained in force, many would have faced conviction. ‘Don’t ask why you didn’t change it yourselves,’ Georgiadis added. ‘We did—but under criminal law, defendants are always tried under the most favourable provision in effect at the time. So those Tsipras sought to exonerate, were exonerated. And let’s be clear: active bribery isn’t committed by the poor.’
Former Justice Minister Stavros Kontonis had earlier condemned the rushed passage of the codes as a ‘stain and disgrace’, later describing the process as an ‘extreme example of entanglement’ between politics and justice.
‘Tsipras is naked…’
In a nod to Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Emperor’s New Clothes, Georgiadis titled his post: ‘Tsipras is naked…’. He noted the swift backlash from political commentators and self-proclaimed guardians of decorum—accusing him of toxicity. ‘How dare Adonis say Tsipras took money to vote for the penal codes in 2019?’ they asked. ‘Unacceptable.’