Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/GREECE: Alexis Tsipras, Greece’s main opposition leader, called for a no-confidence vote in the government over a long-running wiretap scandal that he alleged the PM had masterminded personally.
According to the AFP, the leftist ex-premier told parliament that conservative PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis was the “chief and mastermind behind this criminal network” after revealing that five top defence officials, including a minister, had been under country surveillance.
Greece PM on no-confidence vote
PM took up the gauntlet on a visit to Crete, saying: “We are ready for this battle in the political ground.” The no-confidence vote is expected to be held on Friday. The Greek government can nominally count on 156 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament to have enough seats to survive the motion.
The move comes as the PM expects to announce a fresh elections date this year. He had been expected to announce in March 2023, but the no-confidence vote could hasten that decision.
In a rousing speech, Tsipras said on Wednesday he had proof of state surveillance from ADAE Greece’s communications watchdog, which recently carried out an audit at the telecom operators in Greece.
The former premier said ADAE’s chairman Christos Ramos had informed him on Tuesday that Greece’s former minister of energy, its head of staff, the army chief, ex-national security advisor, and two other officials involved with weapon procurement had been under surveillance by the country intelligence agency EYP.
Tsipras said that Mitsotakis had “consciously lied” for six months and had “thrown the entire weight of his authority” to prevent the truth from coming out.
