Michalis Bekiris, a longtime aide and close personal friend of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has announced that he is temporarily stepping aside from his duties as director of the prime minister’s parliamentary office, despite never having been formally appointed to the position.
Bekiris has been performing the duties of director of the prime minister’s parliamentary office without a formal appointment published in Greece’s Government Gazette, according to reports. He has described his role as voluntary, an explanation publicly accepted by government representatives.
The arrangement has drawn criticism from opposition parties, which have questioned his authority to perform the duties of a director without a formal appointment, his academic qualifications, whether he receives any form of remuneration and whether he is subject to the accountability requirements that apply to appointed officials, such as financial disclosure statements, known in Greece as pothen esches.
On Monday, Oct. 26, Bekiris announced that he would step away from his duties pending judicial clarification of the matter. He insisted that the decision was entirely his own and did not amount to an admission of wrongdoing.
NEWSLETTER TABLE TALK
Never miss a story.
Subscribe now.
The most important news & topics every week in your inbox.
His announcement followed growing opposition pressure over reports published earlier this month. According to information reported by TA NEA, Bekiris and Mitsotakis discussed the matter at the prime minister’s office in Athens on Monday morning and agreed that stepping aside would be the best course of action. In his public statement, however, Bekiris stressed that the decision was personal, citing the strain the controversy had placed on him and his family and his desire to protect his longstanding friendship with Mitsotakis.
A Director Without a Formal Appointment?
The controversy emerged after the left-wing Greek newspaper Documento published reports raising questions about Bekiris’ academic credentials and what the newspaper described as the absence of an official appointment. Appointments to government positions are recorded in the Government Gazette, known in Greece by its acronym FEK. According to Documento mo such appointment has been published for Bekiris, who has confirmed that he serves in a voluntary capacity.
His educational background has also come under scrutiny. According to the Greek Left Alliance, an online biography states that Bekiris studied political science in France. Citing Documento’s reporting, opposition parties have questioned whether he holds a university degree and have called for Bekiris to provide proof. Bekiris has not addressed the question of his degree in his public statements, until now.
A Personal Decision, Bekiris Insists
In his statement, Bekiris described the controversy as an unprecedented campaign of personal attacks against him and his family. “After many years of close cooperation with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, whom I thank wholeheartedly for his trust, friendship and the honor of being by his side, I informed him of my decision to step away from my duties until the matter is clarified in court,” he said.
He accused political opponents of embracing falsehoods, slander and insinuations in an effort to damage both him and the government.
His decision, he said, was motivated by a desire to protect his family’s reputation and preserve his longstanding personal relationship with Mitsotakis. “It is neither a retreat nor an acceptance of any accusation,” he said, describing the move as a deliberate choice.
Bekiris also made clear that his departure did not signal a political break with the prime minister. He pledged to support Mitsotakis in the forthcoming elections and said his relationship with him would endure.
File Photo: Dora Bakoyannis (left), Kyriakos Mitsotakis (center) and Michalis Bekiris (right) at the Greek Parliament on March 18, 2010, during a parliamentary committee briefing on proposed tax reforms.
He ended his statement with a warning to his critics: “We will say the rest in court. That is where those making and spreading allegations against me will be called upon to prove them.”
A Departure That Leaves Questions Unanswered
The announcement was greeted by opposition parties as a vindication of their demands, although they insisted that Bekiris’ departure did not resolve the underlying issues.
SYRIZA responded with pointed irony, saying that the “volunteer” director of the prime minister’s parliamentary office had finally yielded to political pressure and resigned “temporarily,” without answering the questions that had prompted calls for his departure.
The party argued that Mitsotakis himself should explain the circumstances of Bekiris’ selection and the responsibilities he was allowed to undertake.
PASOK and the Greek Left Alliance have similarly maintained that questions concerning his appointment and academic qualifications remain unanswered.
The controversy is particularly sensitive because of Bekiris’ longstanding personal and political ties to Mitsotakis. His temporary withdrawal removes him from his day-to-day duties but does not formally end a government appointment, since, by his own account, no such appointment was ever made.
Sources: TO BHMA, TA NEA, in.gr