Christos Rammos has put an end to the discussion of his candidacy for the presidency of Greece.
In a written statement, the president of the Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy stated that, “petty political calculations and party strategies, confrontations and conflicts have prevailed.”
Rammos’ name was proposed for the position in previous days by the New Left party. The party had put forth Rammos specifically to underline his role at the Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy, and the investigations that the body had conducted into the wiretapping scandal. The proposal was caged as an attempt to unite the Left against the New Democracy government.
The president of the New Left, Alexis Charitsis, had stated that Rammos’ candidacy was one that “can, among other things, symbolize the joint commitment of the democratic opposition parties to defend the rule of law in our country after the traumatic experiences of recent years, when the government played a leading role in anti-institutional interventions to cover up the wiretapping scandal and the Tempi crime.”
However there were critiques that as head of the independent body that is investigating the wiretapping scandal, to accept candidacy would undermine Rammos’ independence.
The Communist Party (KKE) and the Freedom Movement party opposed the proposed nomination almost immediately. Zoe Konstantopoulou of the Freedom Movement argued it would be more useful to renew Mr. Rammos’ term at the communications privacy authority.
Members of SYRIZA had contravening positions on the suggestion, with various members hinting at approval or positing other names.
PASOK had diplomatically stated that the nomination of Rammos was premature, and should be addressed only after the budget was passed.
However the suggested nomination has now been swatted down, with Rammos stridently refusing to participate in partisanship in this way.
Rammos’ full statement is as follows:
“As has already been made public, the President of the New Left Party, Mr. A. Haritsis, informed me a few days ago that he intends to propose me as a candidate for the highest office of the country. I thanked him for this honorable proposal. I have the following to say about it:
It was never part of my aspirations and my goals to occupy any political office, not even the (at any rate non-partisan) office of the President of the Republic. The only reason why, despite this and in principle, I accepted the proposal in question was the one included in the broader rationale of Mr. Haritsis’ proposal; a proposal that was not like the usual ones submitted in similar cases, which are not based on institutional rationale, but revolve around persons or are based on factional logic.
In particular, this proposal was intended to give a society frustrated after what has happened in recent years in relation to the functioning of the basic institutions of democracy and which (society), as all public opinion polls show, has lost confidence in the institutions of the rule of law to an alarming extent, the positive message that it is nevertheless worth fighting for institutional decency, for the defense of institutions and that public officials should further try to always do their duty to the best of their ability even in the most adverse circumstances, i.e. even when they are subjected to unfair and/or harsh attacks and/or threats.
It was, in other words, a concept concerning the public life of the country, in the aforementioned sense, which could, if given the attention it deserved, have a beneficial effect on it. It was, finally, a consideration which was in no way connected, so far as I am concerned, with my ‘vanity’ or with any expectation of benefit to my person.
However, in the course of the public debate that followed, I found that, instead of the interpretation of the proposal based on its central institutional message, which is obvious to any bona fide observer, being understood and prevailing, and a constructive discussion on it following, petty political calculations and party strategies, confrontations and conflicts prevailed. It began, moreover, in the context of the already-known attempt to assassinate my character, to once again smear my name in mocking and abusive libels in the media and social media and to attribute to me non-existent scenarios.
The above developments have unfortunately and de facto diminished the above value symbolism and severely damaged any momentum the proposal could possibly have in society, which must be the ultimate recipient of such institutional symbolism. Following this, I must, once again, expressing my sincere thanks to the President of the New Left Party both for the proposal and – above all – for its rationale, declare that I do not wish, under these circumstances, to be a candidate for the post of President of the Republic”.
