In Chania, where he will spend the weekend, Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to make important political decisions regarding the government’s course.

And the OPEKEPE case has created political wounds, with Mitsotakis forced to “lose” Makis Voridis, who has served uninterrupted since 2019, and three deputy ministers, including one very close to him, Tasos Hadjivassiliou, who remains in the position of secretary for international relations of the New Democracy Party, from his ministerial position.

The talks that came to light, however, created a political environment of pressure for Mitsotakis. This climate reached as far as Brussels, where Mitsotakis had travelled after the NATO summit in The Hague. As of Friday morning, the countdown to the prime minister’s decisions began, with his interlocutors suggesting that he should recommend that the deputy ministers who had reported on conversations with OPEKEPE officials during the period when they were still New Democracy MPs should be suspended.

“There is no criminal issue for them, but these talks are not compatible with their ministerial status,” sources said. And given that the MPs who have no criminal offence were driven out, it would be difficult for Makis Voridis to remain in office.

The phone calls and the meeting

Mitsotakis reportedly spoke with Voridis on Friday morning, and while returning from Brussels. He conveyed to him that, as things have gone, he too should facilitate with his attitude, while acknowledging that he does not believe the dossier shows any criminal responsibility for his minister. This was also the opinion of Mr. Voridis, who may not have wanted to leave the government, but on the other hand, he did not displease the Prime Minister. The basic precondition for him was and is that the South-Western party should not acknowledge criminal responsibility for him, since it is not evident from the case file.

Arriving at Maximou, Mitsotakis entered a meeting with his close associates. Meanwhile, the deputy ministers had received the message from the … surrounding atmosphere, with some having statements ready. After the meeting, which was attended by Kostis Hatzidakis, Stelios Koutnatzis, George Mylonakis, Pavlos Marinakis, and others, Mylonakis called Hatzivassiliou, Boukoros, and Stamenitis to send their resignations. The other deputy minister of rural development, Christos Kellas, escaped the moratorium, as he did not ask for anything for any of his constituents in a dialogue.

The next steps

With the removal of the four, Mitsotakis chose to move relatively quickly so that the case would not “go bad” and the Maximos building would not be politically trapped, arguing that those ministers who were involved in talks, even without criminal charges, were out of the picture.

This does not prejudge the attitude of the New Democracy Party towards the request for a Pre-Investigation, which PASOK has effectively announced. On the contrary, the government is reportedly not “hot” for another Pre-Investigation, hence it does not plan to counterpose its proposal against that of PASOK, as was done in the cases of Karamanlis and Triantafyllou. According to competent sources, competent sources say that “at most there should be an Inquiry”, based on the first evaluation of the evidence in the case file.

Mitsotakis is also called upon to make decisions on replacing the ministers who have stepped out of the scheme. For the position of Makis Voridis, a person of a similar political profile will most likely be sought, as the aim is to continue the course set by Mr. Voridis. For the positions of deputy ministers, it is a given that New Democracy MPs will be recruited, and it remains to be seen whether they will be “first-timers” or “ex-timers” who will get a second chance.