Regarding the lifting of parliamentary immunity, he said there is no contradiction in the government’s decisions, noting: “From the very first moment, I stated on behalf of the government that the announcement by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office constituted—and still constitutes—a serious development. When the prosecutor decides to request the lifting of immunity for certain MPs, it is not because they are defendants or, even worse, guilty, as some have already judged, but because this is a prerequisite for them to provide explanations. If they were not MPs, they would simply have been called to give explanations. What would follow is a separate decision for the judiciary in each case. The case-by-case assessment was never about the lifting of immunity itself.”

He added: “As I explained the following day during the political briefing, lifting immunity after 2019 has effectively become the rule, unless a case falls within parliamentary duties. In any case, the MPs themselves requested the lifting of their immunity in order to be accountable before justice, declaring their position and, as each expressed it, their innocence. Therefore, anyone speaking about the lifting of immunity regarding our MPs is ‘knocking on open doors.’ The case-by-case review concerns the political evaluation of each situation.”

“Political evaluation does not produce judicial judgments of guilt or acquittal. It relates to the real facts of a case as they emerge in public. But since you began with an audio clip of Mr. Androulakis, leader of the opposition and president of PASOK—what is PASOK essentially saying? That because a number of New Democracy MPs will soon have their immunity lifted, there is an issue of government legitimacy, portraying it as a ‘government of defendants or suspects,’ adjusting their wording because even ‘defendants’ was legally inaccurate,” he said.

He continued: “I looked into it—it doesn’t take much, you don’t need to be ‘Inspector Clouseau.’ From 2023 to today, during this parliamentary term, PASOK MPs have had their immunity lifted seven times in total. Considering that PASOK’s parliamentary group has 32 members, that’s about 20%. This doesn’t mean all cases are equally serious or involve the same offenses, but for example, two involve breach of duty and one concerns inaccurate asset declarations. Again, these individuals, like our MPs, may be acquitted or have no involvement. Have you ever heard us claim that Mr. Androulakis leads a ‘parliamentary group of defendants’? Such claims are unacceptable.”

Referring to the transfer of OPEKEPE to the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), Marinakis stressed: “Even if delayed, we are taking responsibility—the major reform has been implemented, and OPEKEPE has been transferred to AADE. Why is this significant? Because no one can now call AADE to request a higher subsidy, just as no one can ask for a bigger tax refund or lower ENFIA. This reform ensures no one can intervene anymore, whether for something illegal—which is a matter for justice—or even for something legal. Only New Democracy’s parliamentary group voted for this reform. Those in opposition who criticize illegal agricultural subsidies did not support this change, which aims to put an end to the phenomenon.”

On the possibility of abolishing preferential voting, he said: “Any proposal that reduces voters’ power—because that’s what preferential voting is, the expression of citizens’ choice—moves in the wrong direction.”

He added: “Any proposal that increases the number of state MPs or introduces single-member constituencies like the German model, where only one candidate runs per district, does not necessarily mean the best candidate wins. It moves in the wrong direction and has elitist characteristics, in my view. Personally, I believe the most important thing in politics is the people’s verdict, and I intend to remain in politics only for as long as people want me there through their vote.”

Finally, regarding the prime minister’s announcement about banning social media access for children under 15, he explained: “This is being done now because it requires time to implement technically. It’s not something you can switch on overnight. There must be coordination and preparation at the European level—hence the prime minister’s letter to Ursula von der Leyen. It’s a battle we must fight together: parents, the state, society, and all political parties. It’s a European issue, not just a Greek one,” he concluded.