Greek Parliament published on Tuesday the assets of 508 politicians for the financial year 2011 (2010). The so-called “πόθεν έσχες” (literally: whence did you acquire it?) contains the asset means of MPs and party leaders according to their declarations to tax offices.
According to the πόθεν έσχες lists uploaded on the website of the Greek Parliament two out of the three coalition government party leaders Samaras (Nea Dimocratia) and Venizelos (PASOK) and Kammenos (Indepentent Greeks) are the most rich. they declare their assets together with their wives.
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras declared income from MP salary 66,499 euro and 78,669 euro other income sources. He owns 13 properties in Attica, Euboea, Messinia and two private cars, 3,800 shares in companies, as well as deposits in foreign banks. (276,640 euro, 25,119 British Pounds, 12,925 USD)
Evangelos Venizelos declared 86,205 euro taxable income and tax-exempted income 75,747 euro. He has 23 real estate properties with apartments in Athens and Thessaloniki, and agricultural land. Bank deposits 2,155,811, share 55,803. Two cars.
Panos Kammenos and his wife declared income of 60,561 euro from the parliament, 66,000 euro from rents, 5,400 euro from additional rents and 29,444 euro from income as lawyer. Bank deposits 11,238 euro, shares 55,000. He also has 8 properties in Athens and Samos, 3 cars and a boat.
Alexis Tsipras (SYRIZA) declared income from parliament 60,561 euro, has a property in Attica and one motorcycle.
Fotis Kouvelis (Democratic left) declared income 60,561 euros from the parliamentary allowance, total income 139,431 euro, bank deposits 172,299 euro, shares 5,637, has three private cars, and 14 properties in Attica, Trikala, Argolis and Euboea.
Aleka Papariga (KKE) declared income income 119,541 euro and 832 euro bank deposits and has a property in Attica.
Nikos Michaloliakos (Chrysi Avgi/Golden Dawn) presented a tax statement as responsible for the GD finances: he declared income 22,915 income euro, his wife Eleni Zaroulia declared 17,659 euro. They have properties in Attica and Laconia, and one private car.
According to the Audit Committee of Finance of the parties in some cases requested further clarification and justification. (in.gr, newsit, zougla)
It should be noted that the political scene was different back in 2010, with politicians not being Members of the Parliament anymore.
In general one can say that our Greek politicians whether party leaders or simple MPs have quite some assets mainly in properties and real estate and many of them coming from inheritance. Properties seems to be the A and O of investment preference.
Champion in property ownership is former PASOK MP Anna Dalara (wife of singer Giorgos Dalaras) with 59 properties (apartments, houses, land plots etc).
They also have bank deposits not only in Greek banks. In 2010, the year Greece sought the aid of IMF and EU, former PM Kostas Simitis transferred 50,759 euro to German Volksbank.
What is important to note and what has been criticized every years when these lists come out is the following: the lists contain the “assets” but not “where did they come from“… But as the lists are formed by the same politicians (members of the economic control committee of the parliament) no one should wonder about.
The controllers in self control lol
PS I wonder what they pay in emergency property tax… In fact they could sell some properties and donate the money to families who cannot afford heating oil… 🙂
Excuse me, but the photo in this article reads “Samaras, Venizelos, Kammenos”: except that in the photo there’s Tsipras and not Kammenos…
yes, there was no sa-ve-ka picture.
Tsipras is also laughing at the two boys trying to explain, leave alone justiy the un justifiable.
At the moment, there are hundreds of thousands of people living below the poverty line in Europe, including Greece. In Greece, people commit suicide on a daily bais because they cannot feed themselves and their families any longer. Even working people struggle to put food on the table or heat their homes. Under conditions like this, it is to say the least obscene that anybody can turn around and declare an income of over 160K, (half of which is tax exempt), and over 2 million in the bank. And he calls himself a socialist???
If anything, these figures make a strong case for putting politicians on par with other working people in this country. It isn’t as if they are doing anything extra ordinary brilliant and innovative, the state of the country is living proof of that. The tax exempt money alone would keep 2,500 families in Greece going at the rate these people make those families live on.
there are rich socialists …
BTW: I feel really comfortable to know our politicians have no economic problems. so they can govern us at full speed
With their Nobel prize to prove to us all just how deserving they all really are.
I have something else here they all deserve, size 12, steel-capped, up right where the sun doesn’t shine. Sideways if at all possible…
Why am I not the least surprised ?
because you live long enough here to know 🙂
the troica demand that we introduce laws next year to enable our bankers[w] to repossess houses where owners cannot pat their morgages
does the same situation exist in GREECE??
there is an eviction stop for main house but it expires end of 2012, and the Troika apparently wants this to be lifted.
This is proof, as if we needed it, that Greece’ s politicians have never been focussed above all on providing a service to the country. Instead, they appear to have invested a great deal of time, energy, and money into acquiring assets. Shame.
Shame indeed. Also standard practice, anywhere politicians are allowed a free, unsupervised reign. That is where the problem lies.
they do what most other people do, look after themselves first. They do it disproportionately so so because we allow them to do so. Simple example; in what other job is an employee allowed to set his/her own wage, declare what and how much tax s/he is going to pay, which extra’s in terms of expenses etc s/he can claim…
In every other job a person is recruited on merrit and ability to do the job to the best of their ability. In politics people get the job and move to the top based on their ability to spoof their way through life and brown nose those above them.
If they ever do anything, Peoples everywhere MUST draw up a contract for their politicians to stick to. I am not talking about what the politicians must do (although that is something that People must do as well).
I am talking ethics, attitude and behaviour, about who and what they must be before they will be considered to serve the country in what should be the most important postions going. The politicians have debased the importance of these position to a level of schoolyard politics, based on power, money, lies and bullying, in that order. And we let them…