In 2008 he condemned a conflict of interest of Minister of State Theodoros Roussopoulos regarding the role of his wife's job as a journalist and publisher, and asked for one of the two to step down.

Prime minister Karamanlis rejected Tatoulis' reproaches: "Such views are anachronistic, if not medieval, about the role of women in modern society.

Following an Ethnos interview in which Tatoulis railed against the government for failing to crack down on corruption, on 10 November he was finally expelled from both Nea Dimokratia's parliamentary faction and the party, but remained an independent MP until 2009.

Supported by an unusual duet of social democratic PASOK and right-wing LAOS party, he defeated Nea Dimokratia's candidate Dimitrios Drakos in the second round winning 52.53% of the popular vote.

He eventually reconciled with his former party so it subsequently supported him in the 2014 regional election when he was reelected defeating SYRIZA's candidate Odysseas Boudouris in the second round winning 59.35% of the electoral vote.