Armed Forces bill there to serve government’s pre-electoral campaign, Tsipras tells Parliament

The main opposition leader was addressing a plenary debate on a bill titled “Provision in favor of Armed Forces personnel, streamlining of Armed Forces legislation, organization of the National Guard and other provisions,” and unrelated amendments attached as riders, including an exclusion of neo-Nazis sentenced for crimes from electoral ballots.

Tsipras asserted that Mitsotakis “places the Armed Forces and relevant national affairs in the arena of micro-political exploitation,” and charged that the bill does not resolve critical issues but is only brought forward now for pre-electoral campaign purposes. The government “has not given a single euro to the men and women who handle our weapons,” he underlined.

He then reiterated the wiretapping issue, holding the government and the prime minister responsible for the alleged tracking of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff (HNDSG) Chief, General Konstantinos Floros.

Responding to criticism about Syriza rejecting previous defence budget legislations, Tsipras noted that his party voted in favor of procuring both the Belharra frigates and the 18 Rafale fighter jets. The only procurement Syriza did not approve was the one about the additional 6 Rafales, as they were “not accompanied by the appropriate recommendations of the relevant armed forces committees.”

Finally, Tsipras called yet again on prime minister Mitsotakis to take part in a live televised debate, which “you have been avoiding for seven years,” he added.

To that effect, Tsipras said he is ready for “any such live comparison of policies and the relevant face-off.”