German MEP of Greek origin, Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, launches new party in Athens
Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, an MEP with Germany’s Free Democratic Party, on Thursday launched a new party in Greece that will participate in European Parliament elections in May with the aim of giving Greeks “a strong voice” in Europe.
Launching his party, called Greek European Citizens, at the offices of the European Parliament in Athens, Chatzimarkakis criticized German policies opposite Greece and Europe and described the troika as “a supposedly technocratic body” that has compromised “basic democratic rights and citizens’ incomes.”
He accused Germany of having “double standards” and described the austerity policies it has championed in Greece and other EU member states as “a dead end.”
The 47-year-old politician had indicated last spring that he would end his political career in Germany due to his frustration at the way his party and the German government had treated Greece and Cyprus over their bailouts.
