A video was leaked on social networks where the mayor of Sparta boasted about how he bribed voters

The minister for agricultural development in the Mitsotakis government was forced to resign, and the former deputy finance minister in the Karamanlis government, now the mayor of the city of Sparta, was expelled from the ruling New Democracy on Monday.

The reason for the “drastic action” was a video showing the minister, the mayor and several local politicians laughing heartily when the mayor said they had sacks of money to distribute to the people of Elijah after the massive wildfires in the summer of 2007 that killed 84 people , including several firefighters.

Αξέχαστα χρόνια οι 49 νεκροί στην Ηλεία
”όποιος σου έλεγε καλημέρα ”τότε έπαιρνε λεφτά από σακούλες
Γιδιστάν pic.twitter.com/YWHSjYsJyJ

— Ιερώνυμος boss (@JeronymoBoss2)

Αξέχαστα χρόνια οι 49 νεκροί στην Ηλεία
”όποιος σου έλεγε καλημέρα ”τότε έπαιρνε λεφτά από σακούλες
Γιδιστάν pic.twitter.com/YWHSjYsJyJ

— Ιερώνυμος boss (@JeronymoBoss2) February 7, 2022

“>February 7, 2022

Petros Dukas brags about gangster methods of “distributing cash” to win elections in 2007. “We distributed cash, reversed course, and won the election,” the mayor says in the video. The entry dates back to February 2, when officials and politicians met in Sparta to discuss compensation for farmers who lost their crops due to recent frosts.

“We went down [туда] with bags and paid compensation to everyone who… [пострадал от пожаров]. We literally flipped the game, we were 15% behind [в опросах]we would have been destroyed, we went there and turned the whole game upside down in two moves,” Dukas can be heard speaking in the video, which, as reportedstreamed live on Facebook.

“We gave money to anyone who said good morning,” added another.

According to a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office, Kyriakos Mitsotakis demanded that Minister Spilios Livanos explain his reaction to the “unacceptable comments” of Sparta Mayor Petros Doukas.

Livanos, who was in Brussels, gave an explanation which the Prime Minister did not find satisfactory. He asked him to resign, and the minister complied.

At the meeting, Dukas mentioned the tragic forest fires in the Elijah area in the summer of 2007, before the national elections. Video footage of the meeting, released on Monday, shows Dukas saying that compensation paid to fire-affected citizens swayed the election in favor of the New Democracy party.

In the same video, Minister Livanos can be heard telling Dukas that this was a “historic step”. Livanos confessed to Mitsotakis that he should have reacted differently, according to the state news agency. amna. The prime minister could not help but react quickly to save face amid soaring prices and growing public anger leaving no room for cruel cynicism.

Regarding Mayor Dukas, deputy finance minister from 2004 to 2007, New Democracy said in a statement that Petros Dukas’s “recent statements, apart from being historically untrue, have nothing to do with the principles and values ​​of New Democracy.” . As a result, he was notified of the corresponding decision of the party to dismiss.”

There were rumors at the time that the government of Kostas Karamanlis (Party New Democracy) generously handed out 3,000 euros to anyone who claimed to have a burnt house, barn, farmland, animals, and so on.

Georgiadis: Doukas was talking nonsense.

Development Minister Adonis Georgiadis was invited to the SKAI TV studio to comment on Petros Doukas, the mayor of Sparta, exiled by ND, about compensation for the fire victims of Elijah. The minister tried to make excuses that he did not do very well.

More about forest fires in Ilya in 2007 here.

Regarding financial assistance, Wikipedia notes with reference to “The rapid nature of the response, provided as a direct assistance scheme without bureaucratic delays, led to official claims to the contrary a year after the disaster, as was the case with the residents of Ilea, who were notified of the return help. Meanwhile, opposition parties have accused the government of using a scheme to “buy” local votes in the weeks leading up to the 2007 Greek legislative elections.” Even then, opposition parties accused the government of using a scheme to “buy” votes from local residents in the weeks leading up to elections in the Greek legislature in 2007but the case was hushed up due to lack of evidence.

PS On good terms, this case should go to the prosecutor’s office. I understand that the opposition will not miss such a chance…

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