“Obviously, his impeachment has nothing to do with the fact that he signed or co-signed a parliamentary question together with ten other New Democracy colleagues. We understand this and it goes without saying, because if this was the reason for the impeachment, it would not be the only one. After all, this is why we have spoken at length and we have said that obviously the MPs have the right to submit questions and exercise parliamentary control”, pointed out Mr. Voridis.
Referring to what has gone before in the case of Mr. Salma, he said the following. “He had also raised in our parliamentary group and then with a parliamentary question an issue which he considered that somehow things have not been done correctly and this concerned a case of a public notice for the operation of canteens which concerned the Ministry of Culture. He asked a parliamentary question about it and of course nobody checked him on it. He received a parliamentary response from the responsible minister and in fact he said at the time that he was covered by the specific response and in any case he has also exercised his parliamentary control and has received the responses he has received. He thought it good to bring this issue back to the public debate, even with unfavorable characterizations and judgments. It is also noteworthy that for this case there have been appeals by the interested parties, which were decided in the administrative courts and they consider that the procedure is completely legal. So, when a member of parliament comes back, when the government has answered him, I don’t know if he was satisfied with the answer or not, but there was an answer in an oral procedure, that is, to a topical question. So there has been an answer. And then the Justice also gave an answer on this matter. When after this, when something is judged, it is answered at the political level within the framework of parliamentary control and then it is also judged at the judicial level and it is judged that there is nothing reprehensible, for a member of parliament to bring back judgments with unfavorable and heavy characterizations for the minister, for the government and for its operation, obviously this exists auditable”.
Asked if he attributes personal motives to Mr. Salma’s attitude, Mr. Voridis characteristically said “I’m not going to answer you, not for any other reason, but because I can’t know everyone’s motives. Because motivation, as you know, is a subjective, personal element. Everyone himself knows what his motives are.”
Asked whether he can be deleted from the party, he noted “what will be the judgment of the Ethics Committee, I don’t know. (…) In general, the so-called unethical behavior can fall under both the regulations and the party regulation and the party constitution that imposes on party members a certain way of behavior, but also the Rules of the House. (…) Obviously the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament are much more demanding, because they also include all those rules of parliamentary ethics”.
Regarding the question of the 11 MPs of the New Democracy and the information that says that the Prime Minister, returning from New York, is going to invite the MPs of the ruling party to Maximos, when asked to make a comment, Mr. Voridis said the following.
“The government has absolute confidence in its parliamentary group and it is a parliamentary group with its current composition, but also with the previous one, which for about five and a half years has been unwaveringly supporting the government and has given it support even in the most difficult times and more demanding and to the most ambitious. So what do I want to say? We do not see any disturbance, nor does it disturb us and create any issue in the government that some colleagues wanted to highlight an issue with their question. We just said that it was possible to clarify with this question a number of things concerning the protection of borrowers, bad loans, their reduction, the protective framework. In other words, things that the colleagues who submitted it have voted for and supported. So there is not the slightest disturbance. Now, the case of Mr. Salma, indeed, to put it another way, is it not pleasant for anyone, to lead people to the disciplinary or to have this kind of friction and necessary treatment? On the other hand, it is true that there are certain moments when even this measure, i.e. disciplinary measures, when someone exceeds certain limits and above all exceeds the statute and also exceeds what is defined in the operating regulations of the Parliamentary Group, cannot be done otherwise. We must all adhere to certain basic principles.”
“If what you are trying to say, if there is any general political issue with the New Democracy Parliamentary Group, I want to declare to you that there is absolutely none,” he added.
Regarding tomorrow’s meeting between Mr. Mitsotakis and Mr. Erdogan, according to Mr. Voridis, probably “nothing spectacular” is expected.
“The image I have is, because we are talking about the upcoming meeting, they will emphasize issues of the so-called positive agenda, the soft agenda. So tourism, culturally, immigration, they will put these issues before anything else” he said.
Asked to comment on information that states that between Athens and Ankara there is a common understanding that the issue of the delimitation of maritime zones could be resolved during the current term of office of the two leaders, Greece and Turkey, Mr. Voridis emphasized: “It is important first of all to build trust on both sides after a rather difficult period. Now, indeed, we have entered a better period. But I want to say it straight. Turkey is an unpredictable player that changes its attitude very easily and so know that we always have that in the back of our mind. That is, yes, we say to the dialogue and yes, the confidence building measures and yes, the positive agenda. These are all good things. (…) From here on, at some point, obviously when it will be judged that both sides are ready, they can open a dialogue framework on the issues that you know we accept to be the subjects of discussion that we have”.
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