At noon on Saturday, a few hours after he had left the Presidential Palace after the swearing-in of the new cabinet members and after the Karamanlis affair had been handled, Kyriakos Mitsotakis was alone in his office at Maximos. There he basically wrote the text of the statement he is expected to make today, shortly after 10:00, in which he will take a position on the substance of the second OPEKEPE case that has been plaguing the government for days.

Mitsotakis chose to give his Sunday message on social media an initial signal, pointing to the battle with the deep state as a constant gamble, despite the fact that in the case of agricultural subsidies the government has already passed a key track with the subordination of OPEKEPE to AADE. And later in the afternoon, Mitsotakis sent a message from the events marking the 200th anniversary of the exit of Messolonghi that resembles the spirit of his statement today. “Despite the difficulties, we too are making our own exit from a Greece of low expectations to one of great demands and high expectations. Away from the darkness of toxicity and the fixation of introversion, in an effort, however, that also today presupposes unity, confidence and political maturity,” Mitsotakis stressed.

He also put the big picture dimension, wanting to respond to the broader stakes that concern citizens. “A picture that, unfortunately, foreshadows geopolitical upheavals that require defensive and diplomatic vigilance, economic upheavals that will call for realistic but necessary adjustments in order to adapt society, but also populist excesses, which can only be defeated by the counterattack of the ‘front of truth’,” he stressed.

Associates of the prime minister explain that no tangible initiative should be expected from the prime minister’s message today. He wants to put the political wraps on a case that continues to hurt the government and the ND. He should point out that a number of cuts have been made to the state, from digitisation, faster delivery of pensions, to interventions in the NHS, but there are many bets to be won. Bets that he highlights as his central priorities on the road to 2030.

It also remains to be seen how Mitsotakis will prescribe the government’s next steps in terms of the political management of the scandal and whether he will declare that not all cases of the ND MPs involved are the same. Something that Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis did in a way yesterday.

Immunity waivers and irritation

Yesterday, however, a number of central figures involved in the case pointed in the direction of lifting their immunity while defending their innocence. Former ministers Kostas Tsiaras and Yiannis Kefalogiannis commented on the matter, while former ND secretary Kostas Skrekas leaked his resignation letter.

Perhaps the strangest case of silence is that of Trikala MP Katerina Papakosta, who is charged with a “carabinoid” felony. Also, former deputy minister Fotini Arabatzi asked for a preliminary investigation, while former minister Spilios Livanos avoided it, simply underlining his innocence. The Pre-Investigation route, however, seems certain, even if it is an express route aimed at referring the former ministers to the Judicial Council.

If there are anyone, however, to whom Mitsotakis should urgently address is the members of the Southwest who feel “hanged on a stick” by the political management of the Great Maximus building. Protothema.gr yesterday reported the very heavy climate that prevails among the blue MPs, some of whom are even floating ideas for convening the Parliamentary Group.

Others believe that there may be surprises in the vote on the lifting of immunities after Easter, while in chorus MPs believe that there is no point in operating political offices if mediation with the public administration on citizens’ affairs is now also criminalised. Even people who talk to Mitsotakis regularly, outside the inner circle of Maximos, admit that managing MPs is now the most difficult exercise, especially since in the coming months they will be asked to go out to “write in” their crosses for the elections.

In this environment, voices are also intensifying that Mitsotakis should reconsider early elections, saying that the political environment will not change in the coming period and the government will be torn between the OPEKEPE and wiretapping. Mitsotakis, however, does not seem to be listening to this discussion, sticking to his plans that do not include early elections.