ATHENS: Greece's conservative government on Friday survived, as expected, a vote of no confidence put forward by the leftist opposition over a wiretapping scandal targeting politicians, army top brass and journalists.
Allegations of state surveillance have snowballed since the leader of the socialist PASOK party, Greece's third-largest, said last August that his phone had been tapped by the state intelligence service EYP in 2021.
The government has denied any wrongdoing or knowingly wiretapping anyone.
Earlier, Greece's government on Friday faced a no-confidence vote called by the opposition over a long-running wiretap scandal in which top officials were targeted by state intelligence for months.
Prime Minister Mitsotakis, whose ruling conservatives can count on enough lawmakers to overcome the challenge in parliament, has welcomed the vote as an opportunity to promote his government's record ahead of elections in spring.
"I seek comparison, not conflict," Mitsotakis said after the opposition called for the vote on Wednesday.
"The motion is welcome...(it is) a very good opportunity to reconfirm the cohesion of our parliamentary group," the PM said.
The government can nominally count on at least 156 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament, enough to survive the motion.
Leftist former PM Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday called for the no-confidence vote and called on Mitsotakis to resign.
"The prime minister cannot stay at his post one more day," he said.
Mitsotakis was the "mastermind and leader" behind a "criminal network" that had wiretapped officials' phones, Tsipras alleged.
The former PM said he had secured proof from Greece's communications watchdog ADAE after it conducted an audit at the country's telecoms operators last month.
The ex-PM said ADAE's chairman Christos Rammos had informed him on Tuesday that Greece's former energy minister, its head of staff, army chief, former national security advisor and two officials involved with arms procurement had been under surveillance by state intelligence agency EYP.
Tsipras said Mitsotakis, whose personal office has oversight over EYP, had "consciously lied" for six months and had "thrown the entire weight of his authority" to prevent the truth from coming out. The government has accused Tsipras of seeking to weaponise the ADAE.
It has noted that it was Tsipras' leftist government that appointed Rammos to his post just before elections in 2019. - AFP
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