Nikos Androulakis: ‘George Mylonakis is not coming to the investigative committee, he is being dragged’

PASOK-KINAL President Nikos Androulakis appeared as a guest on the show ‘Kalimera Ellada,’ discussing among other things the OPEKEPE scandal, the investigative committee, George Mylonakis, and the primary sector. During his interview, Androulakis criticized government officials’ claims that the opposition is ‘going overboard’ regarding the OPEKEPE scandal. He described such statements as brazen, arrogant, and inappropriate, countering: ‘This is the same party that, on the Prime Minister’s orders last summer, staged an unprecedented procedure in Parliament. They expelled their own MPs, left only eight present in the plenary, half of whom voted by mail—solely to prevent judicial investigation into Mr. Voridis and Mr. Avgenas’ responsibilities, as proposed by PASOK based on the European Public Prosecutor’s Office indictment. Going overboard? Over what? Over a corruption scandal penalty that will cost Greek citizens nearly one billion euros? Over what? That the governing majority didn’t invite any of the key figures from the indictment—the so-called ‘frapedes’ or others who threatened people’s physical safety and squandered public funds—to the investigative committee? They didn’t call the woman with the Ferrari but summoned three deceased individuals, and still use the term “overboard”?’ Referring to yesterday’s developments involving Deputy Minister and close Mitsotakis aide George Mylonakis, Androulakis clarified: ‘He is being dragged into the investigative committee. If they feared nothing, a preliminary inquiry should have been launched instead of an investigative one.’ The PASOK leader highlighted a recurring pattern by Kyriakos Mitsotakis, referencing statements by European Chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi on the ministerial liability law. ‘When a Prime Minister orders the manipulation of Article 86 to shield his ministers from judicial scrutiny, everything else is detached from reality. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office has effectively set up operations in Athens. Today, Ms. Kövesi herself speaks about Article 86. So what are we discussing? They prevented Mr. Karamanlis from being investigated under the European indictment related to contract 717 on telecontrol, rejecting PASOK’s proposal for a preliminary inquiry. Is that not a cover-up? When you do the same in the OPEKEPE case, is it not a cover-up? When you repeat this in surveillance cases, is it not a cover-up?’ Androulakis emphasized proposals presented at the Thessaloniki International Fair aimed at strengthening institutions: a constitutional revision of Article 86, changing the method of selecting judicial leadership so it isn’t decided solely by the incumbent government, and banning judges from assuming public office for four years after retirement. ‘To avoid behind-the-scenes games where someone says, “Turn a blind eye in this case, and we’ll help you later,”’ he explained. He underscored New Democracy’s political hypocrisy, noting they included such measures in their program but blocked them three times—the same number of times PASOK submitted the relevant amendment. ‘Mr. Mitsotakis has proven he wants to instrumentalize institutions. We have a Prime Minister who brought EYP into Maximos, orchestrated wiretaps, prevents justice from doing its job, and whose entire circle is embroiled in serious scandals—and you tell me he wants the Greek people to know the truth and seeks separation of powers? That’s precisely what he doesn’t want.’ Regarding PASOK’s political goal, Androulakis stated: ‘PASOK has one goal: to send New Democracy into opposition and become the governing party. I believe we can achieve this. A large segment of society now understands that a third Mitsotakis term means further inflation, worsening of the National Healthcare System, growing inequalities, and thus deeper problems and dead ends.’ He also elaborated on PASOK’s plan for private debt: ‘We proposed 120 installments for everyone to settle debts with tax and social security authorities. For Swiss franc borrowers, we presented a solution aligned with European standards: one-third of the exchange rate increase burden falls on the borrower, two-thirds on the lender. Servicers must ensure mandatory participation of banks and investment funds in out-of-court mechanisms; otherwise, if they reject applications, they must provide valid justification so borrowers’ lawyers can appeal to court. Last week, we brought these proposals to Parliament, and New Democracy rejected them because, even here, they play the banks’ game.’ Finally, Androulakis spoke about a market left unregulated, resulting in continuous price hikes for goods and services. He urged a simple comparison: ‘During the four years of severe inflation, how many billions did oligopolies earn versus how many fines were actually imposed and collected? You’ll realize market inspections were mere formalities.’