Tsipras: I removed Polakis
SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras has said it was his decision to remove Pavlos Polakis from his position as shadow minister for transparency, in his first public comments on the recent controversy sparked by a social media post from the firebrand lawmaker.
In a recent explosive social media post, Polakis attacked judges, journalists and the head of the Independent Authority for Public Revenue in colorful and threatening terms.
Tsipras said it was his responsibly as president to evaluate actions that damage his party.
“SYRIZA has rules and procedures. [Polakis] was censured for having posted some programmatic positions that differ from the collectively elaborated positions on how we will deal with problems with the functioning of institutions,” Tsipras said, speaking at a health conference in Thessaloniki.
“SYRIZA will not govern the country to either overthrow [institutions] nor to take revenge. It will come to power to build,” he said.
A meeting of the leftist opposition party’s executive bureau is scheduled to convene on Tuesday to decide on a further response to Polakis’ post.
Polakis has already been struck from the party’s ballot for the next general election and was stripped of his title as shadow minister for transparency following Saturday’s post. He is widely expected to be ousted from the party, even though he represents the crucial district of Hania in Crete.
