The political clash between the government and the Independent Greeks (ANEL) following yesterday’s statements by the opposition party’s leader, Panos Kammenos, according to which ANEL deputy Pavlos Chaikalis was offered a bribe to vote for President of the Republic, is spiraling out of control.

Indicative of this is the fact that both sides, namely the leaders of New Democracy and ANEL, have decided to resort to Justice with Mr. Kamenos reportedly saying to his associates that he won’t quit until he sees Mr. Samaras behind bars.

On his part, the Prime Minister has already asked the prosecutor to investigate the case. Sources from his environment say that “the Prime Minister is determined to protect their institutions and will not allow anyone to create conditions of political instability that would undermine the efforts of the Greek people.”

Now Justice must act quickly to clarify the situation within a few days and dispel the ominous clouds that overshadow the presidential election process.

The attempted bribery scandal broke while the prime minister was still away in Brussels to participate in the EU summit. Mr. Samaras immediately consulted with his advisers and the first official response was given by Government spokeswoman Sophia Voultepsi, who characterized the case a pitiful charade, before he even departed for Greece.

The government decided to move on three axes and:

– Downplay the importance of the case by calling the allegations a pitiful show, given by two actors

– Ask for direct investigation of the case by the judicial authorities

– Give a political dimension to the case, by presenting the allegations as an attempt of opposition parties to scare their deputies and prevent them from electing a President of the Republic