The withdrawal of Anna Michel Asimakopoulou from the New Democracy (ND) ballot for the European Parliament brings about rapid developments. Since the emails came out, parallel to the investigation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as the Prime Minister stated on SKAI TV, the Maximos Mansion investigated the matter, wanting no unanswered questions.
According to information from protothema.gr, the MEP obtained the list from an associate of the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Interior, Michalis Stavrianoudakis, through the secretary for Expatriates of New Democracy, Nikos Theodoropoulos.
The controversial leak is not chronologically related to the platform for registration in postal voting and took place in May 2023. Given that the Prime Minister wants the matter to be closed, Ms. Asimakopoulou facilitated and placed herself out of the election race, while Mr. Stavrianoudakis resigned from the position of Secretary-General of the Ministry of Interior, assuming the political responsibility for the leak of personal data. The same is expected to happen with Nikos Theodoropoulos.
As government officials point out, this development unfairly affects Ms. Asimakopoulou’s overall presence, but some things simply cannot be tolerated.
Earlier Anna Michel Asimakopoulou had announced her decision not to participate as a candidate for the European Parliament in the upcoming June elections if the issue with the emails sent to expatriates was not fully clarified.
She explained that “this is because my conscience does not allow me to unwittingly participate in the efforts of some to undermine the institution of postal voting, the Mitsotakis government, or the prestige of Greece”.