Leros: Exposing “Political waffle” – Nikos Ignatidis’s response to opposition party leader Michalis Kolias

REPLY TO MICHALIS KOLIAS FROM ONE OF THE “PROSECUTION WITNESSES” – Journalist Nikos Ignatidis

As residents of Leros island, we are fortunate to live on a beautiful island, among wonderful people who know when to speak, when to remain silent, and above all, when to enjoy a good comedy, especially when the leading actor is the opposition party leader of Leros Municipality, Mr Michalis Kolias.

Mr Kolias has, therefore, invented a new political genre: “Political waffle”.

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It is a hybrid cocktail of political inaction and fantasy so rich that even the most seasoned satirist would tip their hat.

The “school of Political waffle,” as practised by Mr Kolias, bears the following characteristics:

• Caught off-guard in a debate with Mayor Kottakis and unsure how to respond? -Don’t worry, blame the local journalists!
• Invited publicly and repeatedly by local media to answer questions? -Panic! Hide and claim they act as “crutches” of your opponent.
• Unwilling to apologise at a council meeting for the criticisms levelled by Mayor Kottakis? –No big deal! Simply stay away and claim the entire opposition group is ill!
• Handed out Direct Award Contracts and Consultancy Services for 13 years, like supermarket vouchers? -That’s nothing, just say “Mayor Kottakis is worse”! At least you were consistent: same people, same results!
• Left Poseidonio, the waste site and Belleni Tower riddled with problems? –Record a video and then insist it was all Mayor Kottakis’s fault.
• No significant projects to present in over 13 years of your Administration? –Comfort yourself with the claim that “projects are at the planning stage.”
• Globally, judicial witnesses are protected, yet on Mr Kolias’s Leros, they must appear in court disguised to avoid a manhunt.

Perhaps local media should issue an Amber Alert for his political disappearance. Despite his absences from both the Municipal Council and committee meetings, we await his on-camera responses, yet he replies via convenient press releases, no doubt copy-and-paste assisted.

On a serious note, however, there is nothing laughable here:

By insinuating ulterior motives against citizens who have merely performed their legal duty, testifying before official judicial authorities, Mr Kolias reveals his contempt for transparency and public scrutiny.

Witnesses are summoned by the justice system and obliged to attend. Being a “prosecution witness” is neither a stigma nor an offence. It is both an honour and a duty for any citizen who respects the rule of law and the community in which they live.

Mr Kolias’s reaction clearly shows how threatened he is by genuine accountability, the kind that happens under the bright light of the courts, not behind whispered doors in café backrooms.

• Mr Kolias, is it true or not that, before going to court, I visited your office and asked you to prepare a simple document withdrawing your lawsuits? You agreed (you even sent me the draft, which I still have), yet at the last moment you reneged, resulting in your first-instance conviction.
• Is it true that in 13 years I never missed any event or interview to which you invited me?
• Ultimately, am I, AIGAIO TV and LEROS NEWS to blame for your refusal to vote for a development budget for Leros?
• Is everyone else at fault except you, Mr Kolias?

As for your accusations of local media acting as “crutches” for two family men, you should hang your head in shame as a former mayor. May I remind you: if you desire a friendly “press office,” you are free to launch your own newspaper, call it “The Voice of Direct Award Contracts”.

Journalists are not the problem, Mr Kolias; your political past is. The more you insist on seeing “shadows” and “conspiracies,” the more you demonstrate to the people of Leros that what you truly fear is the truth and accountability.

The era of political impunity and “Oh, who will ever know?” attitude is over.

We don’t write to please you, we write to hold you accountable.

If that troubles you, so much the better for all of us!

Nikos Ignatidis