In Greece, video footage has been released showing Prime Minister Mitsotakis and his cabinet officials at a dinner in which 30 people took part. This happened during the official visit of the head of government to the island of Ikaria. The prime minister has apologized, but the hype in the press continues. Is this a real scandal, or is it not so scary?
Stay on course!
Liberal, the pro-government online portal, accuses Mitsotakis’ critics of double standards:
“These hypocrites were not embarrassed by the hundreds of marching protesters, and the thirty people who dined in compliance with all appropriate sanitary and hygienic measures caused a flurry of criticism. … If there is a lesson that the prime minister’s staff could learn from this story on the island of Ikaria, it is that from now on, on the prime minister’s trips to the regions, which are an obligatory part of the program, meetings with local party leaders [since the meal that caused a storm criticism, took place on the terrace of the house of one of the deputies] and other risk factors have to be eliminated. In an effort to score points in terms of image, politicians only harm themselves. A single oversight should not change the political agenda and damage the government’s image. Excessive self-flagellation will not be beneficial.”
Scandal, and double
The fact that the pro-government media seemed to fill their mouth with water only hurt Mitsotakis, writes online portal TVXS:
“The fact that most of the pro-government media chose to cover up what was happening, and the government chose to remain silent, turned it all into a real abuse of power scandal. It happened on the very first weekend, in which a curfew was introduced from six in the evening. This measure especially hits those people who do not have the opportunity to go to the grocery store or go for a walk every day. A measure that is already a heavy burden on the shoulders of society, which has been locked up for three months already. If the reports of the incident were published without delay — in the usual way, the storm would surely have subsided by now.”