Leftist unionist spends union funds on personal luxuries
- Written by E.Tsiliopoulos
A Lexus 3000 cc, worth 67,000 euros was the mode of transport for the president of Pan-Hellenic Confederation of Unions of Agricultural Co-operatives (PASEGES), according to data in the findings of of comptrollers from the state accounting office, tendered in parliament, yesterday by the deputy agriculture development minister Paris Koukoulopoulos.
The voluminous document that is currently in the hands of the president of the parliamentary committee for commerce, Georgios Vlachos contains data that “burns” the leadership of a number of agricultural organizations in the period 2001-2011, showing expenses for which there is no legitimate provision.
According to data revealed in parliament, yesterday, hundreds of thousands of euros were spent on housing for the PASEGES president, mobile phones, credit cards, the luxury automobile, thousands for new year's cake tokens, lambs for Easter festivities, turkeys, mass dinners, flower purchases, and other delectables.
In a retort to Ethnos newspaper, PASEGS president Jannetos Karamichas speaks of skewing of the truth, noting that expenses would be far greater if he rented a hotel room, rather than a home, and said that he had “inherited” the car when he took over the post. Mr Karamichas noted that such expenditure was not criminal as the organization is self-funding and has always paid for the living arrangements of its leadership.
According to the data in the report, the organization shelled out 184,819 euros for the president's housing between 2006-2011; 67,000 euros for the Lexus, 9,000 euros for New Year's tokens, 23,000 euros for lambs and turkeys, 44,500 for the president's mobile telephony, and 345,000 euros for the management's refreshment club.
Despite the ostentatious lifestyle at the expense of the organization, Mr Karamichas, who has been at the PASEGES helm, since 2000, has been a crucial lynchpin with the socialist party PASOK. Just a few days ago, Mr Karamichas was in the front line for the establishment of a unionist movement, with the main focus, as announced being the future of the socialist Left. The conference, in which Mr Karamichas featured prominently, blasted away at the memorandum-minded policies of the current government. The PASEGES president let fly fiery barbs at the government for its heartless treatment of average Greeks.
Mr Karamichos, left PASOK in 2011, through a letter addressed to then PM Giorgos Papandreou, in which he decried the government's measures citing his ideology and unionist past as reasons for departure.
