Sunday’s edition of Proto Thema, Greece’s best-selling newspaper, headlines a story on the “steep” expenses incurred by Greek DM Panos Kammenos during his recent official visit to Washington D.C., where he headed up a ministry delegation.
An invoice obtained by “Proto Thema” shows an American Express card listing US$3,132 in charges. The question, of course, relates to who is the holder of the card. The other discrepancy deals with Kammenos’ initial statement of occupying a “simple room” in the five-star hotel where the Greek delegation stayed, instead of a luxury suite.
The minister, a former ND deputy who founded and heads up the small rightist and populist Independent Greeks (AN.EL) party in coalition with leftist SYRIZA, said his room cost 268 euros per overnight stay.
Nevertheless, a bill by the hotel apparently shows that Kammenos stayed in the glitzy hotel’s “Georgetown” suite for US$1,408.56 a night, with the 268 euros reportedly being the amount he paid in cash.
A steak dinner billed on the same AMEX card for an unknown number of diners cost 920 dollars.
The entire article will be published in Sunday’s Proto Thema.