A two-day debate in Parliament over a House probe into the farm subsidies scandal got off to a rocky start on Tuesday, with the opposition criticizing ruling New Democracy party over the timing of its proposal to establish a parliamentary inquiry into the Hellenic Agricultural Payments Organization (OPEKEPE).

“You want to vote on the inquiry committee today so you can hide tomorrow during the discussion on the preliminary investigations,” said SYRIZA MP Christos Giannoulis, accusing the government of attempting to sideline more urgent probes. He requested that the opposition’s proposals for preliminary investigation committees — scheduled for debate Wednesday — be discussed first.

“The inquiry is a tool aimed at a cover-up and opacity,” Giannoulis said. “The government is no longer just irresponsible. It’s dangerous.”

Alexandros Kazamias of the Course for Freedom party echoed those concerns, accusing the government of being intolerant of dissent and protecting former New Democracy agriculture ministers Makis Voridis and Lefteris Avgenakis, whose possible role in the scandal has come under scrutiny.

Socialist PASOK’s Dimitris Mantzos called the procedural move “a distorted and anti-parliamentary tactic,” emphasizing that opposition requests were submitted first and are based on active case files. “This scandal will be yours,” he warned the government. “You’re dragging Greece through the mud in Europe.”

Opposition parties are demanding that preliminary investigations take precedence, viewing the inquiry as a distraction.

Source: Ekathimerini.com