The countdown to the departure from the government of Migration and Asylum Minister Makis Voridis and Deputy Ministers T. Chatzivasileiou, D. Stamenitis, and Chr. Boukoros began with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ return from Brussels.

The political handling of the OPEKEPE case was the subject of a meeting at Maximos Mansion. However, prior to the meeting, Mitsotakis had already communicated with Voridis, and the minister’s resignation had been agreed upon.

At Maximos Mansion, there was clear dissatisfaction with the deputy ministers mentioned in the case file, who appear to have communicated with OPEKEPE officials about various matters. The key criterion regarding the deputy ministers was whether their communications with OPEKEPE staff involved favoritism or were purely administrative in nature—hence, Christos Kellas remains in the government, while the others were removed.

The government is separating political from any potential criminal liability in the case. By accepting the resignations, political responsibility has been assumed. Regarding further handling of the issue, although a parliamentary investigative committee is considered likely, it is equally possible—based on current information—that the government will not submit its own proposal but rather wait for opposition moves and respond accordingly.

Regarding any criminal responsibility of Makis Voridis and Lefteris Avgenakis, government sources acknowledge that the evidence is extremely weak, while political responsibility for Voridis has already been assumed through his resignation.

It is noted that Mr. Voridis, for his part, has detailed arguments regarding his time at OPEKEPE during his tenure at the Ministry of Rural Development, and insists to his interlocutors that, out of the 2,800 pages of surveillance transcripts, there is no indication of any illegal act attributed to him, nor does he appear to have communicated with any government employee.

Government officials, following the announcement of the resignations, noted that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis does not accept the excuse that the problems at OPEKEPE are a long-standing issue and commented that when one is part of the government, the bar is set higher. “Makis submitted his resignation because he needs to defend himself, and the resignation does not constitute an admission of guilt,” they specifically noted regarding the resignation of the Minister of Migration.