12-08-16 Ministry replies to Diamantopoulou’s criticism

[Former education minister] Anna Diamantopoulou has accused Education Minister Nikos Filis of “pettiness” because in his statements he reminded people of her fiasco with the distribution of photocopies [of textbooks] instead of books in 2011. However, since when does a universally known and indisputable fact constitute “pettiness”?

Indeed, in her statement Ms. Diamantopoulou herself concedes that “the books distribution system collapsed in her hands”, but she attributes this – in accord with the favoured tactics of every consistent pro-memorandum figure – to the responsibility of…SYRIZA.

Ms. Diamantopoulou served as education minister beginning in 2009. Consequently, when two years later, as she concedes, the system of school books distribution collapsed, she bore an extremely weighty political responsibility. That responsibility, which she never assumed by tendering her resignation, was assigned to her, along with many other issues, by Greek society, which sent her home.

That is the reason that today Ms. Diamantopoulou, in seeking a role far from the centre-stage of political developments and from the judgment of citizens, has been transformed from a cadre of the once progressive part of the political spectrum into a distinguished sidelines interlocutor of Mitsotakis’ New Democracy and into a steadfast whisperer [mouthpiece] of the troika. These are today’s “grand accomplishments” of Ms. Diamantopoulou. Let her revel in them and let the education minister concern himself with “petty matters”, such as the distribution of books instead of photocopies and the smooth opening of schools in September.

Anna Diamantopoulou’s statement.

Listening to the remarks of Mr. Filis on the radio station of the Athens-Macedonian Press Agency, and the…insinuations regarding photocopies, I think this completely confirms that his brand of politics is communications and petty politics, with cheap innuendo and borrowed victories.

The textbooks for students of ALL levels of education since 2012 have been delivered to schools in a timely manner EVERY year.

This is due to the radical change of the old [books distribution] system - which collapsed in my hands - with the abolition in 2011-2012 of the Organisation for the Publication of Textbooks (OEDB), and the assignment of production to the Public Diophantos Institute and the reform of the distribution system. The cost to the public coffers was drastically reduced, while the books since then were sent directly to schools, and not to local distribution centres, independent of the minister and bureaucratic staff.

In view of all these changes that were made so as NEVER again to allow problems with the production of books, SYRIZA opposed in its well-known extreme manner.

The political cost at the time was huge, but I now have the satisfaction every year of listening to ministers announce that all books arrived at school on time.

None of them, however, exhibited the…pettiness of Mr. Filis.