Makarios Lazaridis resigned as deputy agriculture minister on Saturday, saying he was stepping down to avoid distracting the government from its work, amid an ongoing dispute over his academic qualifications and political pressure within the administration.

Lazaridis had been appointed in a limited cabinet reshuffle earlier this month that replaced ministers who stepped down after their names appeared in a new case file linked to a widening farm subsidies scandal.

He subsequently faced sharp criticism over a degree he submitted in 2007 to serve as an expert scientist in the office of the late education minister Marietta Giannakou.

Until Saturday, he had refused to resign, saying that if he should have been appointed as a special associate rather than a special adviser, this occurred “without any intervention or choice on my part.” He also offered to return any salaries he improperly received, with interest, a move critics interpreted as an admission of wrongdoing.

In his resignation statement on Saturday, Lazaridis defended his record, saying he had lived “with honesty and dignity” and served the country “with consistency and a sense of duty.” He said he had supported Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the New Democracy party throughout his political career, both in opposition and in government.

He also said he had been elected twice as a member of parliament for Kavala in northern Greece, and described his 2019 disclosure of financial assets as proof of his commitment to transparency.

Lazaridis accused opposition parties of “toxic attacks” and “slander” over an issue dating back nearly 20 years, while insisting he had acted with political dignity throughout the controversy.

He said he was resigning to ensure the government and the agriculture ministry could continue their work “without distraction.”

Source: Ekathimerini.com