GOVERNMENT: No matter what its spokesperson, Pavlos Marinakis, says in his valiant attempt to “press on, ” the wiretapping and OPEKEPE scandals, due to the government’s own mishandling, resemble a battle with the Lernaean Hydra in the stagnant waters of a swamp.
For every front the ruling party tries to close, a new one opens up, while its credibility sinks deeper and deeper with the shoddy parliamentary tricks it employs.
How did Adonis Georgiadis put it last July, just before the motion to establish a preliminary investigation into Maki Voridis and Lefteris Avgenakis was voted down?
“…the European Prosecutor has no right to tell us whether she considers Voridis or Avgenakis guilty. Do you know what right she has? She says, ‘See if you want to investigate it.’
Who in the Constitution has the authority to decide whether they should be investigated? The Parliament. Its majority. Who holds the majority in Parliament? New Democracy. What did New Democracy decide? That they don’t need to be investigated. End of story.”
And the dogs are tied up, as the saying goes.
So what if the government—and the prime minister—had previously stated that ministers should go directly to their natural judge. When things looked grim, they fell back on the… well-worn path of the current constitutional norm.
Or to put it more colloquially “I said what I said, but screw it, I’ll do what I want.”
GOVERNMENT II: Pretty much the same thing happened—perhaps in an even cruder way—last Friday, when Makis Voridis, one of the beneficiaries in the previous episode, stepped forward to give us a new sample of “à la carte” institutional respect .
And in fact… right to our faces.
What did he tell us? That, during the previous parliamentary inquiry into wiretapping in 2022, because the ruling party wanted to form a committee—apparently without his own vote—it did not raise the issue of the constitutionally required majority of 151 MPs.
In other words, it admitted that, based on its current interpretation, the Constitution was violated at that time with its full acquiescence!
Now, however, since she does not want an investigative committee to be formed—lest new unpleasant facts emerge—she has invoked the theory of constitutional imperative to block it.
We’re talking about absolute respect for the institutions. No jokes.
TRAGICOMIC: The government’s position that the wiretapping inquiry should not proceed due to “sensitivity” regarding the EYP is certainly laughable, given that both the government itself and the Supreme Court have done everything to convince the public that this is a simple case… involving private citizens.
At the very same time, that is, that the Supreme Court, through its prosecutor, Konstantinos Tzavellas, is shelving the case once again, fully adopting the version that this involves some random private individuals, with no involvement of the EYP and no issue of espionage, the government steps in to reject the investigative committee, on the grounds that its subject matter pertains to the EYP and to matters of foreign policy and defense—and thus to espionage.
A true farce, which now gives the entire opposition, without exception, as well as figures with deep roots and influence within the party, such as Antonis Samaras, a legitimate reason to hit the roof.
This also reveals something else.
That the potential losses from these antics will not only affect the liberal center—which, between us, the ruling party has already lost, at least on matters of principle—or the “anti-establishment” crowd, (who are having a field day with this sort of thing), but also a segment of the “serious” right.
Whether it’s a smaller or larger segment remains to be seen.
KOVESI: The European Chief Prosecutor’s move to send a letter to the Commission, denouncing actions that have “a negative impact on the EPPO’s ability to effectively investigate and prosecute offenses falling within its jurisdiction, ” takes the rift between the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Greek government to another—now official—level.
And it raises the issue in a way that is by no means easy for Europe to ignore, just days before a delegation of MEPs from the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control —known as CONT—visits Athens to examine the OPEKEPE issue firsthand.
As is well known to most, Kyriakos Mitsotakis is among the “favorite” figures of the European political establishment, maintaining close ties both with the Commission President, the famous Ursula, as well as with the leadership of the European People’s Party.
The blow, however, is serious, as it comes from a powerful anti-corruption institution and from a particularly prominent—and successful—figure, Kovesi.
This is happening at a time when the European system is necessarily very cautious in its political maneuvers regarding corruption issues, due to the scandals that have preceded it, even within Brussels.
The heads of the Lernaean Hydra, as we mentioned above. And there is much more to come…
NEW DEMOCRACY: The absence of New Democracy MP George Vlachos from the last two parliamentary votes—on the preliminary inquiry into OPEKEPE and the investigative committee on wiretapping— did not go unnoticed and confirmed the rift separating him from the Prime Minister’s Office.
In fact, we are hearing complaints that the experienced parliamentarian did not even answer the phone ahead of the first vote, while for the second he contacted the director of the Prime Minister’s office, Michalis Bekiris, informing him of his decision not to attend.
The truth is that Mr. Vlachos has kept a distinct distance from the party’s official line over the past two years, making primarily parliamentary interventions that strongly criticized government policy on a range of issues.
Among the long-standing political allies of former Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis, it remains unclear how far he intends to take his distancing.
In private conversations, he expressesreservations about whether he will run again.
KARISTIAOU: Much has been written and said about Maria Karistianou’s newly formed party—both by those who attended its launch and by those who speak out publicly about this initiative, often with controversial positions.
This prompted the party to issue a statement distancing itself from the remarks of its supporters and clarifying that “for Our Movement, only what is posted on the official website and our official social media channels is valid, where official positions will also be posted.”
Similarly, according to the statement, “the only members of our movement are those individuals who will be listed on our movement’s website along with their full biographies.”
Associates of Maria of Tembi attribute the “motivated reports” to certain individuals “panicked about what is to come, who are attempting to distort and present the positions of individual supporters of the Movement as the positions of the Movement itself.”
GIOTOPOULOS: Reactions to the news of the release of Alexandros Giotopoulos, a leading member of “17 November,” were varied . The now 82-year-old “Lambros, ” by decision of the Council of Appeals, was released from prison under restrictive conditions, 24 years after his arrest, approximately one year before completing the years of actual imprisonment, as stipulated by the law for long-term prisoners.
Supreme Court Prosecutor Konstantinos Tzavellas requested an investigation into the possibility of appealing the decision, a matter on which Kostas Bakoyannis—who lost his father Pavlos in 1989 in a terrorist attack.
“If I happen to run into him somewhere on the street—and the chances are high since I’m out and about—what will I do? And even worse: if our children see him, what will we do?” wondered the former mayor of Athens, suggesting that perhaps the time has come “to rethink the system we have.”
A bigdebate…
ESPA: A new battle in the communications market for a government contract to promote the ESPA “Environment & Climate Change” program, with two companies advancing to the final round. Producta Direct took a clear lead in the technical evaluation with 130 points, leaving Choose behind with 116 points, while Next Com was eliminated from the process as it did not meet the technical threshold.
Now the battle shifts to the financial bids, where the balance of power is often overturned.
MOD: It is neither an infrastructure project nor a new subsidy program, but the mechanism that keeps the entire system running. This is the Development Program Management Organization Unit (MOD), the body that serves as the technical and back-office support for the NSRF, development programs, and public projects.
By decision of the Ministry of Finance, its budget was revised to 91.1 million euros for this year. €47.7 million will go to personnel, €23.5 million to third-party fees, nearly €9.3 million to operating expenses, and €8.2 million to investments in fixed assets.
INVESTMENTS: Small businesses on the islands are receiving a significant cash injection, as 269 investment projects were approved under the Just Transition program, with a total public expenditure of 22.3 million euros. The total subsidized budget amounts to 31.8 million euros, while of the 403 applications submitted, 133 were rejected and one was withdrawn.
What is interesting here is the geographical scope. From Sifnos, Symi, and Astypalaia to Folegandros, Kea, Kythnos, Patmos, Nisyros, and Lipsi, small businesses are securing funds for “green” investments and modernization.
ELEDAM: Another piece of the puzzle for a Just Transition with the formation of a committee to select the new leadership of ELEDAM, the agency managing critical projects in lignite-producing regions.
The committee will be headed by Vasiliki Pantelopoulou, General Secretary of the NSRF, with Vasilis Siadimas, General Secretary for European Program Management, serving as deputy, while the Secretary of the Decentralized Administration of Attica, Grigoris Zafeiropoulos, and academics specializing in economics and capital markets will also participate.
BOAK: A road safety project that was lost in the transition from the old to the new NSRF is now back in the spotlight with €20 million. The Ministry of National Economy is launching a new call for proposals for improvements to the BOAK, reinstating the Georgioupolis–Petres section.
This is a project that had been removed from the previous funding scheme and is now returning through the new “Transport 2021–2027” program, with the Crete Development Agency as the beneficiary. The goal is to upgrade 11.3 kilometers of road.
INTRUM HELLAS: The company has a new president, with Mr. Kullander Jens Torbjorn taking the position. Mr. G. Georgakopoulos, who until recently held the dual roles of chairman and CEO, retained his position as CEO, with Ms . Al. Fatsa and Ms . M. Vergi serving as his deputies.
CREDIAFACTORS: G. Kourletakis resigned as vice chairman and member of the company’s board of directors.
Mr. Kourletakis had served as executive chairman of Pancreta Factors (now renamed CrediaFactors) for the past 12 months. Maria Grava was elected to replace him as a non-executive member of the Board of Directors.
MEBGAL: One of the last industrial investments to be included in the low-interest loan program of the TAA before funds ran out was that of the dairy company for the construction of a new factory next to its existing facilities inThessaloniki.
The new facility will produce yogurt, fresh and ultra-high-temperature pasteurized milk, kefir, and ariani. This is an investment of approximately 160 million euros, of which about 128 million euros are covered by the TAA and National Bank , with the remainder coming from the company’s own funds.
SWISS FRANC: Bank executives estimate that the process of utilizing the government regulation to convert loans from Swiss francs to euros, with a debt “haircut, ” will gain momentum toward the end of the relevant deadlines in mid-August (Note: the possibility of an extension remains open).
It should be noted that in the first quarter, both Eurobank and Piraeus Bank (the two banks with the largest exposure) saw a low rate of repayment, which accelerated in April and May, now exceeding 25%.
SWISS FRANC II: Of all Swiss franc loans, banks are focusing on those that, in previous years, made use of the reduced installment payment facility, which gradually increases (step-up).
If these specific loans do not make satisfactory use of the government’s scheme, an attempt should be made to amend the loan agreements, in accordance with the supervisor’s directives, who has requested on a pan-European basis that banks attempt, by the end of 2026, to restore all (mortgage) loans under a step-up regime to principal-and-interest payments.
However, in order to amend the contract, the borrower must consent, an uncertain prospect given that the monthly payment, in order to become principal-and-interest, will increase significantly. Difficult times for borrowers and banks alike…
PIRAEUS: Piraeus Asset Management SA recorded a 44% increase in turnover last year, reaching €60.7 million, thanks to net mutual fund sales and an increase in assets due to rising valuations.
At the end of 2025, the company had 37 mutual funds under management, with total assets of €5.84 billion (+28%), of which €2.4 billion were in target maturity funds. Total assets under management (including discretionary portfolio management on behalf of clients) amounted to€7.74 billion.
Pre-tax profits amounted to €37.1 million (+52.77%) and net profits to €28.8 million. Its cash and cash equivalents, at the end of 2025, amounted to €57 million, following the generation of free cash flow of €35.7 million during the past year.
PIRAEUS II: According to its management, Piraeus Asset Management’s goal is to expand its activities into new markets and further increase the assets under management in its portfolios, by deepening relationships with its existing client base and acquiring new clients in collaboration with the Piraeus Group’s distribution channels.
Clearly, the integration of Ethniki Insurance under the group’s umbrella opens up new horizons. Formally starting in 2027 and beyond, but the groundwork began this year…