By Penelope Galliou

Profits and losses from the three-day debate on the motion of no confidence are measured by the government and the parties, with the Maximos Palace adding to the “scale” at the last moment the evolution of the resignation of the two close associates of the prime minister, the Minister of State, Stavros Papastavros and the deputy minister despite the Prime Minister, Yannis Bratakou.

Two resignations that came after it was revealed that the two associates of the prime minister, despite the front the government had opened with business interests after the publication of “Vima” about “editing” of the OSE talks, attended a social event of the businessman in question, sending “wrong message”.

According to information, Mr. Papastavrou and Mr. Bratakos were called by the Prime Minister to his office at the Maximos Palace and there they submitted their resignations, which were accepted, as according to government sources their “participation in a social event gave the wrong message.”

“Minister of State, Stavros Papastavrou and Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister, Yiannis Bratakos, submitted their resignations to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis a while ago. The Prime Minister thanked them for their cooperation and accepted their resignations,” said the announcement from the Prime Minister’s press office.

Shortly before Kyriakos Mitsotakis took to the floor of the Parliament to place himself on the motion of no confidence, he wanted to send the message that any behavior that deviates from the principles and values ​​of the government or that does not weigh the consequences will not be tolerated, pushing back any shadows that would be caused by the stay of his two, until recently, close partners in the government, strengthening the exploitation of the issue by the opposition.

However, the Prime Minister himself, entering the Parliament and being asked about the developments, chose laconically to answer that “that’s what politics has” referring the journalists to listen to his speech.

However, from the floor of the Plenary Assembly, he refrained from expanding the issue and despite being challenged earlier by the other political leaders to explain the resignations, he avoided making any direct reference to his former -now-closest collaborators, instead of sending clear messages for the interests, which all the previous days government officials accused of seeking to destabilize the government and the country.

“I will not co-govern with any paracentrism and bloated wallets” said Mr. Mitsotakis, with the majority MPs applauding and added: “Konstantinos Karamanlis once asked himself ‘who rules this place’.” The answer has been given: The sovereign people and not the bloated wallets, as he said,” noted the prime minister.

In fact, and shortly before closing his speech, he returned to the subject and without mentioning his name, Mr. Mitsotakis “photographed” the publisher, a big businessman, as he characteristically said, whom he invited, if he has political aspirations, to appear in the political arena himself, no by proxy.

“Each business interest can claim what it wants. Even if a democratically elected government falls. Politics must restrain it in its role. I will not co-govern with any centrist. At the helm of the country will be those who are voted for by the many, and not the powerful few” added the prime minister, now giving the form of a head-on collision between Megaros Maximos and the businessman in question.

Reshuffles in the government scheme

The sudden departure of two top officials from the Maximos Palace also sets in motion reshuffles in the government structure, with the choice being the prime minister’s sole responsibility as to whether said reshuffles will be corrective or could result from a “mini” reshuffle.

Seventy-two days before the European elections, however, the first estimates say that there will be no large-scale changes in any case, but essentially according to information, the strongest possibility is that there will be an immediate replacement of only Mr. Papastavros and Mr. Bratakos.

In the first scenarios and in the early nomenclature, the close associate of the prime minister and Secretary General of the Parliament had priority George Mylonakis for the position of Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister, but also the current Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance, Nikos Papathanasisa close and lifelong partner of Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

As regards the assessment of the three-day parliamentary debate on the no-confidence motion, Megaros Maximos positively assesses its development, considering that it provided answers and refuted with facts and evidence the mud that the opposition tried to throw against it, exploiting the emotion and instrumentalizing a national tragedy for small party benefits, turning – as the Prime Minister said – political forces into “merchants of pain”.

At the same time, Megaro Maximos and Piraeus consider that the party came out solid and more united from the group fire of the opposition, while even a communication deficit of the government, which may have existed all the previous period for the case of Tempos, now they consider that this has been compensated , after the three-day, analytical and with arguments from the side of the ruling faction, analysis and explanation of the facts and positions.