New Democracy is opposed to the proposal by Kyriakos Velopoulos to establish a pre-investigation committee to examine Alexis Tsipras over the changes made to the Criminal Codes in the summer of 2019. Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis made clear that the governing party would not take part in such a process, arguing that the issue should be addressed at a political level rather than a criminal one.

Speaking to SKAI 100.3, in response to the initiative by the leader of Greek Solution, Marinakis said: “I will answer clearly. We will not enter into this process, and we will not take part in pre-investigation procedures that criminalise a very important political issue.”

The government spokesman argued that New Democracy did not win the 2019 and 2023 elections through its confrontation with Alexis Tsipras, but because, in his assessment, it put forward more convincing proposals on the issues affecting citizens.

“Neither in 2019 nor in 2023 did we win the trust of the people because we went head-to-head with Mr Tsipras. We won their trust because we provided more convincing answers, comparatively speaking – comparisons are made by voters at elections – to their key questions. And that is what we will continue to do. We do not conduct our political activity, starting with the Prime Minister, on the basis of this kind of confrontation,” he said.

He also clarified that the government would continue to respond to statements by the former prime minister when it believes they go beyond the bounds of political debate.

“When statements are made that I believe cross the line, such as the description Mr Tsipras recently used about the Prime Minister, or when remarks promote the idea that certain politicians have a monopoly on morality, as Mr Tsipras attempted to do, there will be corresponding responses, as appropriate,” he noted.

“Those responses, however, will be at a political level,” he added, pointing out that the questions raised by New Democracy about the Criminal Codes are also based on statements made by former Justice Minister in the Tsipras government, Stavros Kontonis.

“We raised clearly political questions about the Criminal Code, following what Mr Tsipras’s own Justice Minister, Mr Kontonis, had said. Those questions have not been substantively answered,” he stressed.

“We do not want to criminalise political life”

Pavlos Marinakis insisted that the changes to the Criminal Codes constituted a serious political issue which the government would continue to highlight, without, however, seeking to have it investigated by a pre-investigation committee.

“We do not want to criminalise political life in this country. We have no such intention, nor have we given any indication that we do. So we will continue to apply political pressure on an issue which, whenever it comes back into the public debate, I believe is extremely important. It is no laughing matter,” he said.

He went on to focus both on the timing of the changes, shortly before the 2019 elections, and on the potential impact of the provisions introduced at the time on sentences for particularly serious crimes.

“For an MP to choose to do something through their vote in Parliament, or for a government to introduce it, in the way this was done – with Parliament remaining open even though elections had been called – is, I believe, a very serious political issue. Yes, it matters enormously to someone listening to us who may have been the victim of a heinous crime, or may have lost a loved one, whether a court can sentence a murderer to life imprisonment alone, as is the case now and as it was until 2019, or whether it can also impose a sentence of 12, 13, 11 or 10 years. But for us, this is a political debate. So I will answer clearly: we will not enter into this process, and we will not take part in pre-investigation procedures or, in any case, in the criminalisation of a very important political issue,” he concluded.

It is noted that at least 30 MPs’ signatures are required for a proposal to establish a pre-investigation committee to be submitted, while Greek Solution has 11 MPs.