Marinakis on collision course with government

Shipping magnate Vangelis Marinakis and the government appear to be heading for a full-on political confrontation after he claimed on Tuesday that he has visited Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s office many times in the past and has helped his administration.

Opposition parties on Wednesday demanded that the government clarify the nature of its relationship with Marinakis, who is also the owner of DOL media group and Olympiakos soccer club.

“[Tsipras] must inform citizens how many times he has met with him and what exactly they discussed,” New Democracy said, adding that Marinakis must also state publicly what sort of help he offered the government. For its part, Tsipras’s office accused Marinakis of identifying with ND which, it said, is trying to whip up acrimony against the government to mask its lack of political arguments.