By Yannis Anifantis

The feud between the Minister of Health is raging Adonis Georgiadis and his Pavlos Polakiswith the two MPs crossing their swords on the occasion of the amendment of the Ministry of Health that enables private doctors of all specialties to operate in ESY hospitals.

The confrontation started when Mr. Georgiadis, reading a post by Pavlos Polakis, which characterized him “ridiculous subject”, on the occasion of the government amendment, claimed that the Chanioti MP was the first private doctor to operate in an NHS hospital, when he was Deputy Minister of Health. “God loves the thief, but he also loves the householder. Do you know who is the first private physician to enter a public hospital and operate? It is Pavlos Polakis at the Zakynthos hospital,” said Mr. Georgiadis.

Pavlos Polakis took the floor personally, accusing the Minister of bringing a piece of legislation without consultation, questioning “the core of the existence of the National Health Service”.

“You dare to compare the core of the NSS with the fact that I went to operate in Zakynthos. At the time when the surgeries of Zakynthos were closed for 6 months so that some people there could cover their processions saying that a new hospital has a problem with its gases and scorpions and snakes and centipedes are coming out (…) I had closed the surgery and took the political responsibility to go and prove that the hospital was very safe and you dare to compare this thing with this amendment you are bringing?”, emphasized Pavlos Polakis, with Adonis Georgiadis raising the glove and retorting: “What did he say now to justify himself? He said he had closed the clinic. You should describe as Cervantes. He resembles Don Quixote, who fights the imaginary windmills. He presents as his great sacrifice that he simply enforced the law (to close his personal practice). Obviously for someone who had double books, it was some sort of heroics.”

The confrontation was marred by many interruptions and shouts, with the chairperson, Olga Gerovasilis asking the two MPs to stay within the boundaries of parliamentarianism.