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Mr @YiannisBab takes me to task for criticising @nytimes article on the new Greek government. He says I am the one spreading 'falsehoods'. Here is my response. nyti.ms/33bU3pt
I start with my own disclosure: I was a candidate for @neademokratia in the European elections in May 2019 - and I support the government and @kmitsotakis . But I have never received any money or benefits from them. I remain fully independent & express my views freely. 1/
The first falsehood of the @nytimes article is that it did not say in the byline for the author, a Mr Tsimitakis, that he was appointed to the press office of Alexis Tsipras in 2016. So until recently at least he was not a 'journalist', but a well paid Tsipras mouthpiece. 2/ 
I now list all the falshehoods I could spot. Remember, the main theme of the piece is that Mitsotakis is a 'far right' authoritarian. Anyone familiar with Greek politics would find that ridiculous. But all the items of particular evidence the author gives are also ridiculous. 3/
“New Democracy, far from being a moderate, liberal force, seems to be a right-wing party with pronounced authoritarian tendencies.” FALSE: This is the main claim of the piece and is entirely false. The government is moderate and centrist, full of centrist ministers. 4/
“And Mr. Mitsotakis, ... is following divisive and polarizing policies. The return of order is proving to be the return of the hard right.| FALSE: Mitsotakis has been conciliatory. He even appointed a key Syriza supporter,, Yanna Angelopoulou, to an important post. 5/
“You don’t have to search far for evidence. Mr. Mitsotakis’s first month in charge provided plenty of examples of the new prime minister’s antidemocratic instincts.” FALSE – This is a ridiculous statement, needs no comment. 6/
“ Three crucial regulatory agencies — protecting the country’s finances, work force and environment — have been effectively dissolved as part of a bill...”. FALSE. I have no idea what he is talking about. Restructuring of some agencies is not 'anti-democratic' anyway. 7/
“A new institution, grandly called the Presidency of Government, has been created exclusively to support Mr. Mitsotakis.” FALSE – It is not new. It is an old name for the same General Secretariat of the Government (where the author worked for Tsipras). 8/
“ And the state broadcaster has been taken into his control, ....” FALSE – This is ridiculous. Tsipras fully controlled the state broadcaster with laughable results. Mitsotakis has left in place the Syriza leadership, with Prof. Drossos in charge, at least temporarily. 9/
“ And the state broadcaster has been taken into his control, along with the intelligence services.” FALSE – Tsipras fully controlled the intelligence services – and even had the Director sit in his ‘war cabinet’ with Varoufakis. Mitsotakis is creating checks and balances. 10/
“During the campaign, he railed against the historic agreement that settled the dispute between Greece and Northern Macedonia, only to accept it fully once in power”. FALSE: Mitsotakis opposed the agreement but said he would respect it, if signed. He has kept his word. 11/
“ The son of a former prime minister from one of the country’s most powerful political dynasties, he condemns nepotism — TRUE. Finally, this is true. 12/
“ — but appointed one nephew as chief of staff, while another is the mayor of Athens”. FALSE – Another ridiculous claim. The mayor of Athens was elected in May, he was not appointed by Mitsotakis. Dimitriadis has been his advisor and friend for years. 13/
“ And both he and his wife, a businesswoman whose name appears in the Paradise Papers, a huge inventory of tax evaders, have been implicated in scandals.” FALSE – Outrageous. Mitsotakis and his wife have been thoroughly investigated and exonerated. This is awful propaganda. 14/
I pause here to remind readers that the author's boss, Mr Tsipras, frequently accuses opponents of terrible corruption, without any evidence whatsoever. Like all populists he seeks to de-legitimise his opponents with any means possible. It is wholly dishonest. 15/
“During the first week in office it revoked the right of asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants to access public health services” – FALSE. This has no basis in reality whatsoever. 16/
“As the grounds of solidarity are eroded, the government’s plan to abolish a law that bans the police from universities is a sign of the ugly times to come”. FALSE, The policy restores Greek universities to the European mainstream, where police pursues crimes in universities. 17/
"Domna Michailidou ... personifies the cabinet’s ideological agenda... More recently, she implicitly characterized the collective memory of the struggle against the dictatorship of 1967 through 1973 as a “mental illness of the Left. FALSE. She didn't say that. 18/
It is sad that the @nytimes allows these falsities to enter an Opinion piece. The author may think that allowing the police to pursue drug dealers in universities is a shift to the 'far right'. Fine, that's his Opinion and we will judge it. But he can't invent reality. 19/
It is sad that the @nytimes offers its distinguished platform to this kind of low level hatchet job. They should be more careful next time. 20/
Finally, the government of @kmitsotakis is a centrist government with a pro-European and liberal agenda. It has made a great start. It should be judged on its record, not on the basis of Mr Tsipras' paid propaganda. END
