Everything began on Monday morning, when SYRIZA’s Panos Skourletis appeared on MEGA Channel and cited a report in the Sunday edition of Kontra News. The specific report claims that businessmen (who are friendly to the government) have launched an alleged fundraiser to win the support of 180 MPs in parliament and ensure the election of the new president of the republic.
Skourletis’ claim provoked a strong reaction by the Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Development Gerasimos Giakoumatos, who called for “political quackery”, and at the same time demanded that a prosecutor intervene.
A couple of hours later it was announced that an urgent preliminary investigation into Skourletis' statements was ordered by Supreme Court Prosecutor, Efterpi Koutzamani. She will now examine whether the offense of bribery has been committed by anyone.
The mandate of the preliminary investigation was given to Head of the Appeals Court Panagiotis Karagiannis, who in turn assigned it to his Deputy.
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras characterized SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras a destabilizing factor and called on him to instantly substantiate his allegations and claims with names and proof.
"If not then he is clearly a destabilizing factor and on the subversive side instigating political anomaly in these critical moments for our country. “Government spokeswoman Sofia Voultepsi argued that “Greek MPs will not be blackmailed by SYRIZA nor bought by anyone” and accused SYRIZA of spreading lies and making suspicious allegations. On his part, PASOK President and New Democracy’s coalition partner, Evangelos Venizelos said that the investigation was imperative both legally and institutionally, and he accused SYRIZA of “premature arrogance” and “poisoning public life”.
SYRIZA, on the other, welcomed the investigation noting that it will shed light into this case.
"We want the prime minister to assist the judicial procedure so that this case is clarified," SYRIZA said in a statement.(Editor's Note: Samaras is right, the last thing Greece and its citizens need is yet another political mudslinging match, like the one we have been witnessing for the past few days. Serious allegations such as these should be investigated, not left to hover in the air and certainly they should not be used to boost television ratings. Enough with the hits below the belt, the generalizations, vague accusations and the tactics that aim to discredit and eliminate the opponent. We have seen this time and time again in Greece and know the recipe very well. This is what the media did to Costas Karamanlis when he was in power so that they can lower his popularity with the people. HellasFrappe believes that it was high time that a prosecutor intervened! Greek people are fully aware that all of these moves are being staged for the cameras, or to polarize voters. All this poisons Greece's stability and makes a mockery out of the Greek political system. Think about it: Who on earth would want to invest in this country with this band of buffoons? Personal attacks, innuendos and vague accusations, have taken center stage and pushed civilized debates with opinions and arguments to the side. Today the Greek Parliament resembles more of a Kindergarten rather than a formal legislation house. Shame on them!)
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