Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has decided to complete all the institutional changes deemed necessary since last summer in connection with the wiretapping case before the country goes to the polls. According to information, its commander EYP Themistocles Demiris, in consultation with Minister of State Giorgos Gerapetritis, was instructed to proceed immediately with the restructuring of the service, through which, according to information, two important innovations will be introduced, among others:

– FirstlyThe EMP will acquire an Internal Control Department according to the standards of the Hellenic Internal Affairs Service.

– SecondlyA public relations and press office will be created in an effort to be “extroverted” but will also highlight the national security positive aspects of Operation Katehaki that have been overshadowed by the revelations of previous months.

The new interventions at EYP are a continuation and “complement” of a number of other important decisions that were made when the legal connection to the mobile phone of PASOK President Nikos Androulakis became known: It is recalled that, at the initiative of the government, a second prosecutor was reinstated, whose signature is now required for authorization loss of privacy. And also that the position of Commander of the EMP is now approved by the Parliamentary Committee on Institutions and Transparency, and that this position can only be held by a diplomat or a former high-ranking military officer.

Thanks to the position that is currently being promoted, the internal audit unit that will be created at EYP will have as its goal the investigation of even extreme phenomena of corruption in the service – for example, information about “targets”, “selling” data from surveillance, but also other illegal actions of its managers who go beyond the purposes for which they were not intended. In addition, the case of surveillance, which remained in the news, although not listed in opinion polls as a priority issue for citizens, highlighted a number of dark points. ADAE’s inspections uncovered surveillance that the prime minister was unaware of, as he made clear during the recent debate over the SYRIZA vote of no confidence. Also, questions are raised by the fact that secret information about specific surveillance was leaked through certain “channels” and saw the light.

In addition to the two measures mentioned above, by restructuring the EYP and in the context of its objectives, with a constant focus on external threats, on efficiency and on establishing the necessary obstacles to the rule of law, also launched:

• Establishment of new roles for the two deputy commanders, who will now take on coordinating functions.

A press and communications office will also be created to “externalize” the service.

• Restructuring of competent addresses for collection and analysis of information.

• Establishment of the Academy of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, which will enhance the skills of personnel, along with the creation of new duties adapted to modern requirements.

With the set of measures finally taken on EYP, the prime minister is, in effect, “overstepping” the commitments he made when the surveillance case broke last summer. At that time, the government committed to strengthen the EYP’s accountability and oversight of parliament through the Committee on Institutions and Transparency, amend it, and protect the legal liaison framework for politicians. The above, with the encouragement of the EYP regulation change, is fully implemented, while, in addition, the trade and use of illegal software has been banned with stricter penalties for their use.

In this way, Mr. Mitsotakis continues a practice that significantly distinguishes him from most of his predecessors, a fact that will be emphasized by N.D. during the current election campaign: He does not hesitate to admit mistakes, gaps or omissions, but at the same time takes the initiative to prevent their repetition. The actions of the state apparatus during the recent bad weather, as well as last summer, when fires were kept to a minimum, also highlight the great changes that have taken place in the field of civil protection over the past fifteen months.

Polarization

At Megaros Maximos, Alexis Tsipras and SYRIZA are expected to keep the wiretapping case at the top of their election agenda, trying to create a scene of extreme polarization in the face of the upcoming dual electoral contest. According to government officials, the specific strategy indicates that Komunduru does not have as its main “target” the so-called middle ground, but mainly a left-wing audience close to SYRIZA. That is, the “anti-right” wing of PASOK, as well as the capture of voters from the KKE and MeRA25, who want the defeat of the ND. After all, that is how they explain the hot fronts that SYRIZA recently opened with both Nikos Androulakis and Perissos.

Mr. Tsipras’s concrete strategy, it is said, offers the government two important weapons in the last leg of the road to elections. First, it weakens President SYRIZA’s rhetoric about the prospect of forming a progressive government after a simple proportional competition. Second, it leaves significant room for N.D. in the middle space. In this sense, while the Maximos Palace will not leave Koumundur’s poisonous attacks unanswered, Kyriakos Mitsotakis will focus on positive programmatic discourse in the next four years, stressing that – unlike Mr. Tsipras – his own commitments are realistic and credible.