The Greek political scene is in full pre-election mode — and it is not pretty. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and opposition leader Nikos Androulakis squared off in parliament on Thursday in a heated debate over the rule of law, but it was the cascade of scandals engulfing the ruling New Democracy (ND) party that dominated the narrative.
The government is battling on multiple fronts simultaneously. Criminal dossiers have been prepared for 11+2 ND lawmakers, with a vote to lift their parliamentary immunity expected next Wednesday — a development that has reportedly brought the party’s parliamentary group to a “boiling point.” Meanwhile, the wiretapping scandal continues to generate rapid-fire judicial developments, and the so-called Lazaridis affair — involving a close associate of the Prime Minister and allegations of misspent public funds — remains unanswered. Mitsotakis conspicuously avoided mentioning the Lazaridis case during Thursday’s debate.
In a bid to shift the conversation, the Prime Minister announced plans to launch a constitutional revision process in May, but critics called it a transparent attempt at “fleeing forward.” One Ta Nea editorial noted the “great contradiction” that Mitsotakis himself identified: that parliament is consumed by scandals while citizens worry about the cost of living — yet the government has offered no satisfying answers on either front.
Adding fuel to the fire, Immigration Minister Thanos Plevris issued a sharp denial of reports linking him to a European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) criminal case related to pandemic management, declaring that his “tolerance for slanderers is over.” Meanwhile, senior ND figure Adonis Georgiadis launched a broadside against the EPPO itself, calling it “no serious institution” and accusing the European Chief Prosecutor of “blackmailing” for the renewal of her mandate. The remarks drew criticism as undermining the very European institutions Greece’s ruling party claims to champion.
