ATHENS -Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reiterated on Monday that he was unaware that Socialist Get together (PASOK) chief Nikos Androulakis’ cellphone had been tapped in 2021, in search of to distance himself in a speech to the nation from a rising political scandal.
The case, which broke final week, has sparked uproar, with opposition events demanding an intensive investigation and labelling the revelations Mitsotakis’ private Watergate.
The prime minister, whose celebration faces a battle for re-election subsequent 12 months, apologised to Androulakis on Saturday, saying he had no data of the intelligence service faucet and wouldn't have accredited it.
On Monday Mitsotakis added in a televised handle: “What passed off could have been lawful nevertheless it was a mistake. I didn't know and clearly I might have by no means allowed it.”
He stated he had solely discovered about Androulakis’ wiretapping “a number of days in the past”, and in addition introduced measures to tighten management of the EYP intelligence service’s operations and enhance transparency over its practices.
He stated the EYP intelligence service had underestimated the political dimension of its surveillance which, whereas complying with the legislation, was “politically unacceptable.”
Androulakis, a member of European Parliament since 2014 who was elected PASOK celebration chief in December 2021, stated on Friday he had realized EYP listened to his conversations in late 2021. He didn't disclose his supply for the knowledge.
Earlier that day, EYP head Panagiotis Kontoleon and his chief of workers Grigoris Dimitriadis, unexpectedly resigned over the case.
PASOK is Greece’s third-largest political celebration and was for many years the principle political rival of Mitsotakis’s conservative celebration, New Democracy.
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