The Alternate Minister of Administrative Reform Giorgos Katrougalos insisted that the allegations regarding his legal practice, which were brought to light by To Vima, aim to undermine the government ahead of PM Alexis Tsipras’ critical meeting with Angela Merkel in Germany.
Mr. Katrougalos, who made the comments on Mega Channel on Monday morning, insisted that the plot has “collapsed” and expected an “apology from the sycophants”, otherwise he would press charges. The Alternate Minister maintains that the intention was to harm the government ahead of the critical negotiations. A press conference on the matter scheduled for 4pm on Monday has been cancelled , due to Mr. Tsipras trip to Berlin.
When asked about the recent revelations in To Vima, Mr. Katrougalos stated that the “the article which says I would take a 12% commission for each recruitment of a dismissed employee has collapsed” and opined that there is no question of morality or incompatibility with his actions. Spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis commented that Mr. Katrougalos has the government’s full support.
Earlier, in an interview on ANT1, the Alt. Minister claimed that he did the same as the recently-elected President of the Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos. Specifically, Mr. Katrougalos explained that Mr. Pavlopoulos continued to work as lawyer and participated in legal firms during his tenure as a minister in the Kostas Karamanlis administration.
To this, New Democracy MP Adonis Georgiadis responded that between 2001 and 2008 MPs were not allowed to pursue other professional activities, while associates of the President stressed that Mr. Pavlopoulos was never involved in any legal firms, especially prior to his election as President.
