“I assume the burden of responsibility in the name of all those who governed and failed to change a state in need of change”, Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted during yesterday’s Cabinet meeting. At the Maximos Mansion, they are weighing up the problem as ongoing revelations from the OPEKEPE scandal place the administration under enormous pressure. Following the new facts that came to light during talks between the agricultural funding agency’s leadership and New Democracy officials, the government finds itself in the eye of a storm.

Even the administration’s own MPs are upset by the developments, which have provided another front from which the Opposition can rain heavy fire down upon the ruling party.

Wanting to send out a clear message that clientelism can no longer determine how we do politics, Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed that the interface between the citizen and the state will have to be rebuilt on firm and ethical foundations. Cronyism is obviously a problem in other European countries, too, he argued, seeking to show that Greece isn’t the only “black sheep” in the EU. However, he went on to admit that “it was and is a much bigger issue here”.

Government officials insist that the government had set out to tackle the chronic problem of patronage even before the scandal broke, essentially placing the OPEKEPE, the agency responsible for administering EU farming subsidies, under the full responsibility of the Independent Authority for Public Revenue. Indeed, the Prime Minister had said at the time that any bond that could not be untied would be cut. I think that the dialogues that have come to light justify this decision, though they also show that the party-political behaviors of a bygone age can no longer be tolerated in our own and others’ ranks, Mr. Mitsotakis stressed.

Opposition Pressure

At the same time, the opposition has been harshly critical of the government. Government officials have responded with statements concerning the “enormous hypocrisy and slanderous, self-serving logic displayed by a large chunk of the opposition”. They targeted SYRIZA, in particular, saying that “it is anything but logical that the president of a party whose ministers have been found guilty by the Special Court, who was elected out of a nightclub, and support for which has fallen to 3% in the polls, to claim the Prime Minister has lost his legitimacy”.

Speaking about PASOK, the same spokespeople scoffed at the party clutching its pearls at the very notion of favors being exchanged for votes.

They stress that the opposition parties were not founded yesterday, and have a long and far from blameless history behind them.

Still, Nikos Androulakis was particularly caustic in yesterday’s TV interview on Mega. Referring to the Prime Minister’s introductory statement, the President of PASOK said, “I heard the Prime Minister say: “Sadly, we have failed”. But that’s really not it. What he actually meant was “Sadly, we got caught”. We heard the same rhetoric and witnessed the same political response in the wake of the wire-tapping scandal. That he didn’t know, that others close to him did it, that he wasn’t responsible”.

Mr. Androulakis also commented that “the case file doesn’t detail transgressions that happened decades ago. No, it’s about Mr. Mitsotakis’ own administration, about specific people in a ring that has the official seal of the Prime Minister’s office and New Democracy on it. And that ring didn’t spring up out of nowhere. It enjoyed political protection and was guided from the heart of the government. No one can know which pieces of land or pasture are unclaimed, so they can claim them for themselves, without full access to the system”.

Sokratis Famellos was particularly scathing. Speaking from the Hellenic Parliament, he called for a committee to be formed to conduct a preliminary investigation into the scandal. Mr. Mitsotakis has not only failed, he has set up a corrupt client state with European and national resources. The resignations of a few ministers just won’t cut it. We need the entire government to step down, new elections, and a progressive government to deliver justice and revive our country”, he said.