File photo.
The predicted, by some, and hoped, by yet more, revolt of New Democracy lawmakers did not materialize. But tensions within the ruling conservatives’ parliamentary group persist.
The parliamentary immunity of 13 MPs mentioned in the case file on the farm subsidies scandal was lifted, as indeed they themselves had demanded, with no objections from ND lawmakers. But tensions surfaced in unexpected ways: some MPs, including a former Agriculture minister and two ex-government spokesmen attacked a close aide to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Minister of State Akis Skertsos, who, in a social media post, criticized “clientelist” practices of MPs that led to the subsidies imbroglio.
Skertsos is not an MP himself but has held government posts throughout ND’s nearly seven-year government. Moreover, he is not a conservative born and bred but was once close to socialist PASOK, as are other close Mitsotakis collaborators, something that has fueled resentment among the party stalwarts. The attacks could very well be a case, as a local proverb says, of beating up on the saddle instead of the donkey.
A meeting of ND’s parliamentary group on April 30 could be an occasion for MPs to air grievances, some people close to Mitsotakis fear.