Lazaridis obtained a diploma from the College of Southeastern Europe, an inactive private institution whose credentials lacked formal recognition as degree-equivalent. After moving to work with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, his wife immediately took over his former role.
In interviews this week, Lazaridis defended his record, refusing to justify his credentials to opposition parties and denying any alignment with “all left-wingers.” However, on Thursday, he offered to refund any compensation he received inappropriately.
On Saturday, Lazaridis announced his resignation, aiming to let the government and agriculture ministry continue their work “without distraction,” while accusing opposition parties of “toxic attacks” and “slander.”
PASOK, the main opposition party, swiftly criticized the Mitsotakis administration. Lazaridis’s resignation “highlights just how vulnerable the prime minister is,” PASOK stated, “Ultimately, he initiated his own departure, seeing that his acknowledgment of defrauding the state wasn’t sufficient for dismissal in Mitsotakis’s view.”
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