Greek government-debt crisis

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that he welcomes the censure motion submitted by opposition party SYRIZA on Monday.

"The motion is very welcome and it is true that I have been asking him [opposition leader Alexis Tsipras] for many months to submit one," said Mitsotakis, adding that "it is a good opportunity to compare what we have done during our four-year terms."

The head of Greece's largest opposition party submitted a censure motion against the conservative government on Wednesday, accusing Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of orchestrating mass wiretaps of political allies and foes.

The head of the privacy watchdog investigating the wiretapping affair has responded to criticism from the government which Tuesday accused him of overstepping his institutional boundaries.

Ruling New Democracy maintains a lead of 7.5 points over opposition SYRIZA, according to the first major poll in 2023 conducted by Pulse and presented on Skai TV's main newscast on Tuesday evening.

New Democracy garnered 33.5%, compared to 26% by leftist SYRIZA, ahead of center-left PASOK on 11%, communist KKE (6%), nationalist Greek Solution (4%) and radical-leftist MeRA25 (2.5%.)

The initiative of the chief of the state's privacy watchdog (ADAE), Christos Rammos, to send a letter Tuesday to the house speaker, party leaders and the justice minister, regarding the investigation of his agency into the wiretapping affair, triggered a sharp response from the government.

The privacy watchdog chairperson investigating the wiretapping affair is seeking to become "a political factor in a sensitive period" and is "overstepping" his institutional responsibilities, the government spokesperson has said.

Main opposition leader Alexis Tsipras has expressed his "deep concern about phenomena that disrupt the orderly functioning of the state," referring to the wiretapping issue, in a meeting with President Katerina Sakellaropoulou at the presidential mansion.

The chief of the state's privacy watchdog has sent a letter to the parliamentary speaker, party leaders and the justice minister regarding the investigation of his agency into the wiretapping affair.

Deputy spokesperson for opposition party PASOK Anastasia Simitropoulou announced her resignation from her role on Monday citing personal reasons.

"We thank her for her valuable contribution all these months to the collective effort, which she will continue to support with all her efforts," announced the party in its statement.

Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras met on Thursday with Andrea Enria, chair of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank's Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM).

Enria met with Stournaras and other members of the Bank of Greece's administration, as well as with representatives of the managements of Greek banks and the Hellenic Bank Association.