PASOK accuses minister of blackmailing farmers into voting ND favorite

Socialist opposition party PASOK on Thursday accused the Minister of Rural Development, Lefteris Avgenakis, of blackmailing farmers in central Greece whose livelihoods were destroyed in two major storms last month into voting for the regional governor supported by the ruling Conservatives in order to receive their compensations in time.

“Mr. Avgenakis is blackmailing farmers, breeders and producers that, if they do not vote for [PM Kyriakos] Mitsotakis’ chosen one, Kostas Agorastos, he will not give or delay the payment of compensations? Isn’t he ashamed? Is this how we reach out to people who have been destroyed? Who don’t know when they will be able to start production again? Who cannot make ends meet? The only thing that interests Mr. Agorastos, Mr. Avgenakis and Mr. Mitsotakis is how they will win the districts again,” said PASOK secretary Andreas Spyropoulos in a television appearance on ANT1.

Spyropoulos was referring to a post by Agorastos, the incumbent regional governor, who republished a statement by Avgenakis who said that “the result of the ballot box [in next Sunday’s runoff] is inextricably linked to the speed and the observance of the timetables which we announced.”

In the first round of regional vote on 8 October, Agorastos came first with 41.37% but the result was not enough to secure him an outright win and will face independent candidate Dimitris Kouretas (supported by opposition parties SYRIZA and PASOK) who secured 34.11% 
in a runoff on 15 October.