The unprecedented move of the President of Parliament, to return the report composed by the Governor of the Bank of Greece as unacceptable, along with the personal attacks against Mr. Stournaras is not a single, one-off anti-parliamentary, undemocratic practice. It is also a major blow on the independence of a top institution that contributed towards keeping the country afloat during an exceptionally difficult period.

In order to defend the parainstitutional congregation that she has organized for her personal projection, Mrs. Konstantopoulou resorts to the usual practice of authoritarian regimes, without the knowledge of Parliament, to target anyone that does not agree with them.

The Bank of Greece and its management, with the its institutionally guaranteed independence, has a duty to inform Parliament, the government and by extension the Greek people about the real situation in the economy and the risks entailed by certain political decisions.

That is what all Bank of Greece governors have done, from the time of Zolotas to our day. The reports of all governors have pointed out warnings and threats. That is what Mr. Provopoulos did and that is what Mr. Stournaras did yesterday.

The President of Parliament and SYRIZA officers are seeking out domestic enemies, in order to overcome the impasse in the economy and which affects the country as a whole. However, they ought to have known that if it weren’t for institutions such as the Bank of Greece, the General Account Office and the public debt management agency, then the dramatic climate we experience today would have come much sooner. They have been trying to cover up their own mistakes and weakness in decided about anything.

It is both absurd and tragic for the country to literally be on the brink, with the banking system hanging by a threat and dependent on the weekly decisions of the European Central Bank, for government officers to resort to a witch hunt and personal games of political survival.

The Prime Minister has a duty and obligation to put an end to all this and stop tolerating such attitudes and practices which undermine the country’s credibility and which further hinder the ongoing negotiations…

TO VIMA