Tsoukalas: PASOK will propose its own candidate for president

"The prime minister demonstrated today that he has no inkling of the meaning of consensus, even as regards the highest institutional issues, as this has been enshrined for decades in the selection of the President of the Republic," main opposition PASOK-Movement for Change spokesperson Constantinos Tsoukalas said on Wednesday, regarding the presidential nominee announced by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

By choosing current Parliament President Constantine Tassoulas, Tsoukalas noted, the prime minister "is making a narrow partisan choice, choosing a sitting member of parliament from the New Democracy party for the highest office," and had "operated in a one-party manner, breaking political traditions and revealing his deep political insecurity."

Tsoukalas emphasised that "the regulator of the regime, according to the spirit of the Constitution, cannot obviously be a person completely identified with the government faction. The recent constitutional change aimed to prevent the institution of the Presidency of the Republic from becoming an 'election game' and it is regrettable that Mr. Mitsotakis is exploiting this change for his party's benefit, in order to 'cut' the top state institution to size in order to suit himself and his party."

The spokesperson stated that "PASOK has maintained a deeply institutional stance throughout this period, respecting the process and the person of the current President" and announced that "with a sense of responsibility, we will submit our own proposal for the Presidency of the Republic, with all the characteristics and conditions required based on the spirit of the Constitution."

"We leave Mr. Mitsotakis alone, with some far-right deputies as possible companions, on the path he has chosen," he concluded.