War of words continues between government and judiciary
The war of words between the government and Greek judges continued over the weekend with Alternate Justice Minister Dimitris Papangelopoulos accusing the judiciary of systematically opposing the leftist-led coalition.
In an interview with Efimerida ton Syntakton on Saturday, Papangelopoulos declared that, since leftist SYRIZA came to power in January 2015, there has not been “even one announcement by a judicial union that does not oppose, directly or indirectly, the democratically elected government and which does not have an intensely unionist or, even worse, sectional character.”
Accusing the political opposition of trying to manipulate the judiciary to undermine the government, Papangelopoulos claimed, “It is the first time that the judiciary is not absolutely controled by them.”
The dig by Papangelopoulos came just a few days after both he and Alternate Health Minister Pavlos Polakis accused judges of turning a blind eye to corruption, notably as regards state officials pocketing kickbacks from defense procurement deals under previous governments.
Last week, the union representing the country’s judges condemned “improper, slanderous and inappropriate expressions” by government officials about the Greek judiciary.
