A new, heated confrontation is rocking the political scene, with Finance Minister Makis Keravnos and Democratic Party Chairman Nikolaos Papadopoulos taking center stage this time. As a guest on the ANT1 show “Mera Mesimeri,” Makis Keravnos was asked to comment on Nikolaos Papadopoulos’s statement questioning why the Finance Minister isn’t resigning, to which he replied “I think we should be discussing serious issues here, not the absurdities of politics.”
“I belong to the same party as Nikolas Papadopoulos; I don’t know if he acknowledges that I’m a member. His statement didn’t bother me because I always focus on serious issues that concern the citizens of this country and the future of our country.”
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
When asked if he was considering resigning, the Minister of Finance questioned why he should even consider such a possibility and stated that he neither follows nor pays attention to anyone’s statements. When asked to comment on his relationship with Nikolaos Papadopoulos, he noted that he has nothing against him and that “I don’t know what’s going on with Mr. Papadopoulos and his obsessions.”
“He has fixations on certain issues, which he himself can explain.”
In a statement, the Democratic Party expresses regret “over the disparaging manner in which the Minister of Finance referred to Cyprus’s political parties, and in particular, to DIKO and its president.”
“Remarks such as ‘the absurdities of politics,’ ‘these are our politicians in Cyprus,’ and references to ‘obsessions’ lower the standard of politics and political discourse. First and foremost, we must remind Mr. Keravnos that the fact he is celebrating today the upgrade of the Cypriot economy to an “A” rating this is due, among other things, to the Democratic Party’s responsible leadership. The Democratic Party supported, at political cost, the economic policy that led to the recovery and credit rating upgrades of the Cypriot economy. The Democratic Party does not accept lessons in political responsibility from anyone.
As for GSI, the simple question posed to Mr. Keravnos is this: if he considers this project detrimental to the interests of the Republic of Cyprus, then why doesn’t he resign? Either the project will be disastrous for Cyprus, in which case, if he truly believes this, he must resign; or the project is beneficial for our country, in which case he has no need to resign. No one has ever asked for Mr. Keravnos’s resignation, as he himself claimed. What certainly cannot continue are statements of the “one thing one way, another way” sort. For it is the height of absurdity for a minister of the Republic of Cyprus to claim that we should not comply with our obligations toward Greece and the Greek people, especially when Greek consumers have already begun paying the GSI on their bills.
Finally, we assure the Minister of Finance that there is no personal vendetta against him. DIKO’s stance stems from the need to reduce the cost of electricity. On the contrary, the Minister of Finance himself must clarify why he is so relentlessly opposed to GSI, a project that, if implemented, will clash with the interests of monopolies and oligopolies that want to keep electricity costs sky-high.”
