Tsipras: PM politically responsible for ‘Lignadis-Mendoni’ affair
Alexis Tsipras accused Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of attempting to steer the discussion away from “a major scandal, the scandal of an effort to cover up the hideous acts..” ANA – MPA/ ANA – MPA/ ALEXANDROS VLACHOS
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Addressing parliament during Thursday’s debate on the “quality of democracy and public discourse,” main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance leader Alexis Tsipras said the prime minister was “politically responsible” for the way the accusations of rape against Dimitris Lignadis, the former artistic director of the National Theatre, had been handled by Culture Minister Lina Mendoni.
Tsipras started by expressing thanks to those who came forward to report the abuse, “the girls and boys that carried a weight and dared to bare their souls and show their wounds. For finding the strength and raising their voice, for raising a barrier against silence and concealment, protecting hundreds of boys and girls in the future.”
It was them that parliament had an obligation to support on this day, he added.
He also accused Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of attempting to steer the discussion away from “a major scandal, the scandal of an effort to cover up the hideous acts…This is the real discussion that is taking place in every home. The Greek people would like to hear something about this and would expect the assumption of political responsibility, an apology for the mistakes and omissions and for you to provide some explanations.”
He also pointed out that the prime minister had chosen not to have Mendoni in Parliament, and again accused him of shirking political responsibility:
“Did an attempted cover-up not take place before our eyes? Was there not an effort to present the Lignadis scandal as an inconvenience over nothing? Was there not an attempt to present the charges as a violation of the presumption of innocence? I do not believe a minister is blackmailing the prime minister. The only assumption in doubt today is the assumption of your political innocence,” Tsipras said.
Source: ANA – MPA
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