“With plenty of self-justification and zero self-criticism, he tried to disclaim all responsibility, to blame everything on Mr. Simandrakos”
“The former Minister of Rural Development and Food tried to present himself to the Commission of Inquiry as the “Robin of the farmers”, Lefteris Avgenakis” the New Left says in a statement and adds: “With plenty of self-justification and zero self-criticism, he tried to abdicate all responsibility, to blame everything on Mr. Simandrakos and to present his interventions to OPEKEPE as “institutional mediation”. Going so far as to request… that “Crete not be targeted”, as if the public debate is about a geographical area and not his own political actions. But” adds the New Left, “no matter how much he tried to change the subject, there are crucial questions he did not answer.
1.Why was he forwarding citizen emails directly to the Secretary General asking for “handling”?
Mr. Avgenakis forwarded Mr. Papadogiorgakis’ email to Mr. Stratakos and Ms. Kourneta, writing that he wants them to “handle” the case.
So let’s answer clearly:
is it normal practice for a minister to delegate “handling” to individual payment cases? Or is its role simply to inform?
2. Did he know that specific VAT numbers were withheld due to a judicial investigation?
If he knew that some TINs were withheld because they are already being investigated by justice, would he send a query to the agency why they are withheld?
3. Why hasn’t legal action been taken against Mr. Xylouris (“Frape”)?
“Frapes” is heard saying:
“If Avgenakis doesn’t call, I’ll go to Kyriakos and tell him to look at his dirt.”
If the former minister believes he is being defamed, why didn’t he file a lawsuit?
How is it that he publicly complains that he is offended, but does not take any legal action?
4. Did he know that in his constituency the goats and sheep “produced” only 15 kg of milk?
The organization that controls milk production data, ELGO-Dimitra, is supervised by the Ministry.
So the responsibility is absolutely political.
So why was such outrageous and blatantly false evidence being recorded in his day that distorts the subsidy system?
5. What does it have to say about fast track unblocking of reserved VAT numbers?
When Simandrakos resigned, 16,548 TINs were reserved (2019-2022).
In April 2024, during the administration of Babasidis, 7,703 tax IDs were checked and 6,815 were paid, a rate of 88.5%, with fast track checks.
If Mr. Simandrakos was so dangerous, why did Mr. Avgenakis never move against him?
And finally:
Does Mr. Avgenakis think that those who tied up the ATMs did it to blackmail the farmers?”
“The truth is simple” says New Left and notes: “Mr. Avgenakis talked a lot, but did not answer the basics. And he didn’t answer, because the answers lead to something that ND desperately tries to hide: that the OPEKEPE scandal is not an “official error”. It is a scandal signed by the government”.