Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis survived a censure motion called by the main opposition leader and former premier, Alexis Tsipras over a spy scandal that broke in August.
(Bloomberg) — Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis survived a censure motion called by the main opposition leader and former premier, Alexis Tsipras over a spy scandal that broke in August.
Tsipras earlier this week revealed names of several people who were spied on by the state intelligence unit before he called for the vote. The ex-prime minister said the information came from the independent authority for Communication and Privacy. The authority also sent a confidential letter to other parliamentary party leaders, to the parliament’s president and the justice minister with the findings of its investigation.
“In the letter I received there, were no names,” Mitsotakis told lawmakers Friday. The question is, even if the tapings happened, “why you knew their results and I didn’t,” Mitsotakis added.
According to Tsipras, Current labor minister Konstantinos Hatzidakis was being tapped from November 2020 to May 2021, when he was energy minister, while the head of armed forces and other military officials were spied on from July 2020 to May 22.
The parties will now gear up ahead of national elections expected in spring. The next ballot will most likely not lead to a one-party government, since it will take place under a straightforward proportional representation system.
If the parties aren’t able to form a coalition, a new round of elections would be needed that would be held about a month later under a semi-proportional system that makes it easier to form a government.
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