Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis addresses lawmakers during a debate on the rule of law in Parliament in Athens, on Thursday, April 16, 2026. [Ismini Vlassopoulou/InTime News]
In a heated debate in Parliament on the rule of law on Thursday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis accused the opposition of seeking to sow political division and called on the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to speed up its probe into the OPEKEPE farm subsidy scandal and desist from making “selective leaks” that undermine stability.
“The European Public Prosecutor’s Office is respected and is doing its job, but selective leaks and piecemeal investigations are unjustified. Even more so when there are careless conclusions that damage people’s reputations,” the prime minister said in reference to recent revelations regarding the alleged role of several government officials and MPs in the mismanagement of European Union agricultural funding.
“There is a difference between an MP’s interest in helping a citizen who comes to their office and a proven criminal act. It is to the credit of our MPs that they have requested the lifting of their immunity to prove their innocence,” Mitsotakis said, after 11 ruling New Democracy lawmakers whose names appear in a case file submitted by the European prosecutor as part of its investigation into Greece’s sprawling farm subsidy scam requested earlier this month that their immunity from prosecution is lifted.
“What I ask of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is to carry out its work swiftly and to decide promptly which cases will be brought to trial and which will be dismissed,” the prime minister added.
The conservative prime minister’s most pointed barbs, however, were reserved for the opposition, which called Thursday’s debate to challenge the government, which it accuses of institutional overstepping.
“At a time when what is needed is unity, you are rehashing causes of division,” Mitsotakis said, accusing the opposition of stirring “a toxic cesspool that is drowning society.”
“We should not be focusing on issues of the rule of law – without in any way underestimating the importance of today’s discussion – we should be discussing what is happening in Iran, in the Middle East, in Lebanon. We should be discussing Greece’s defence presence in Cyprus. Above all, we should be discussing the significant and inevitable economic consequences of the crisis for the Greek economy, and how these can be addressed or at least mitigated,” the prime minister said.
“The architect of toxicity is talking about toxicity,” main opposition PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis said in response to the prime minister’s speech.
Calling Mitsotakis “unreliable” and a “hypocrite,” he went on to reiterate demands for the government to step down and call early elections, saying, in reference to the conservative government’s party colors, that the “OPEKEPE scandal is deeply blue.”
Androulakis also lashed out over a recent controversy regarding the academic credentials of Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Food Makarios Lazaridis, whose 2007 appointment as a special adviser has come under scrutiny because such posts require a university degree.
Referring to the wiretaps on his and other politicians’ and journalists’ phones with illegal spyware, Androulakis accused the prime minister of obfuscating, saying the questions over his and his government’s role in the affair are “remorseless.”
“The only way forward is for you to step down so the country goes to elections,” Androulakis said.
Androulakis’ sentiments were echoed by the leader of leftist SYRIZA, who said that a vote of no confidence is “imperative” and accused Mitsotakis of violations of the Greek Constitution and rule of law. “It is a matter of democracy,” Sokratis Famellos said.
“We have a corrupt government that shields fraudsters and thieves of the country’s and the EU’s funds. There is also no doubt that all these scandals begin and end at the Maximos Mansion. Nor is there any doubt about the need for criminal investigations into dozens of individuals, both within the government and its New Democracy parliamentary group,” he said.
“The only solution is for the government to resign. You must step down as soon as possible. A democratic, progressive government must take on the heavy national responsibility of rebuilding our country,” Famellos added.