Leader of left party DiEM25 and former Finance Minister of Greece under SYRIZA Yanis Varoufakis refused to undergo a check by coast guard officers on his way back to Aegina under the new strict coronavirus movement regulations, Friday night, citing his MP capacity.
The incident occurred Friday night when the politician was returning to the island of Aegina from a debate in Greek Parliament in Athens about the EuroGroup decision.
As the Mayor of the island, Giannis Zorbas told Thema 104.6, when asked by the coast guard officer to produce his movement permit as his vehicle was disembarking from the ferryboat Mr. Varoufakis replied “Don’t you know who I am?”.
“All the vehicles that disembark from the ship are signalled by the Coast Guard to move aside and present their documents. Mr. Varoufakis slowed down, said ‘I am an MP’ and when the officer insisted on him showing him the relevant documents, he replied ‘Don’t you know who I am?’ and sped away,” Mr. Zorbas said.
As the Mayor said, the officer was unable to respond as Mr. Varoufakis put his foot on the gas and left. “There was dissatisfaction from the other passengers who were waiting for the check to pass because he did not stop and did not consent to the check “, concluded Mr. Zorbas.
Commenting on the incident, Yanis Varoufakis told Thema Radio that “we live in Aegina with Danae for more than half of the year. I had gone to Parliament to discuss the Eurogroup. I returned to Aegina at night and have not left the house since.”
Asked if he is a permanent resident of Aegina, Mr. Varoufakis replied “no, I am not a permanent resident of Aegina but I lived in Aegina before the ban”.
He also cited the Act of Legislative Decree, which, as he said, “excludes the deputies for the exercise of their parliamentary duties. There is nothing more relevant than going to Parliament. I was completely in line with the law because I came to Aegina before the ban.”
“If they want to be ridiculed, let them slap a 150-euro fine on me”, he said.
In an effort to prevent a mass movement towards the countryside from Attica in the wake of Easter Holidays, the government has imposed a series of new stricter checks across the country in its battle to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
