O Miltiadis Varvitsiotis resigns as a member of parliamentas he himself announced, with his post on twitter.

“There comes a time in life when a circle closes and a new one opens. I have the honor of enjoying the trust of my fellow citizens for 24 years, having been elected Member of Parliament eleven times continuously since 2000. I have been a member of the government four times with three different Prime Ministers whom I thank for their trust in me,” says ND MP and adds:

“All these years I walked with deep inside me the feeling of contribution to the country and society. I served the national goal of Greece being distinguished in Europe both at home and abroad. I promoted reforms and privatizations that today are successful examples. I served the positions of responsibility with absolute respect for transparency and public money. I worked with worthy government officials without party blinders. I never hid in difficult times and I always took my responsibilities sometimes at personal and political cost. Always having a clear conscience. But the most important thing was the relationship that I have built with the citizens for decades now. A direct relationship based on honesty. I know you by your first names and for me there is no better feeling than being called by my first name. I always said that in politics you don’t make voters but friends and that’s how we went. I have always believed that giving to the place is not only done from the parliamentary benches or a ministerial chair. Especially today, when the era of great crises and powerful conflicts has passed, the homeland needs to respond to the challenges of the future. Having served twice in the Ministry of Shipping, with the experience of a maritime lawyer, but also as a man of the sea, I firmly believe that this area has unlimited potential for the development and prosperity of the country. After all, I have always believed that Greece should make the most of its success in the field of shipping, and my personal contribution to this effort cannot be limited to political action alone. With these thoughts I hand over my parliamentary seat. Thank you for the love and trust from the bottom of my heart! There comes a time in life when a circle closes and a new one opens.”

His post in detail:

There comes a time in life when a circle closes and a new one opens.

I have the honor of enjoying the trust of my fellow citizens for 24 years, having been elected Member of Parliament eleven times continuously since 2000. I was a member of the government four times with three different Prime Ministers whom I thank for their trust in me. All these years I walked with deep inside me the feeling of contribution to the country and society. I served the national goal of Greece being distinguished in Europe both at home and abroad.

I promoted reforms and privatizations that today are successful examples. I served the positions of responsibility with absolute respect for transparency and public money. I worked with worthy government officials without party blinders.

I never hid in difficult times and always took up my responsibilities sometimes at personal and political cost. Always having a clear conscience.

But the most important thing was the relationship that I have built with the citizens for decades now. A direct relationship based on honesty. I know you by your first names and for me there is no better feeling than being called by my first name. I always said that in politics you don’t make voters but friends and that’s how we went.

I have always believed that giving to the place is not only done from the parliamentary benches or a ministerial chair. Especially today, when the era of great crises and powerful conflicts has passed, the homeland needs to respond to the challenges of the future.

Having served twice in the Ministry of Shipping, with the experience of a maritime lawyer, but also as a man of the sea, I firmly believe that this area has unlimited potential for the development and prosperity of the country. After all, I have always believed that Greece should make the most of its success in the field of shipping, and my personal contribution to this effort cannot be limited to political action alone.

With these thoughts I hand over my parliamentary seat.

Thank you for the love and trust from the bottom of my heart!