Kammenos defends appointment of cousin to Parliament
The leader of the right wing party Independent Greeks, Panos Kammenos, has defended the decision to appoint his cousin as a parliamentary employee.
Reacting to recent press reports, Kammenos said the decision was justified because of the contribution made by his cousin, also called Panayiotis Kammenos.
?Yes, I brought him to Parliament to have him close to me,? said Kammenos, according to media reports.
?He is a university professor and is has taken on organizational tasks for the party. He works from morning until night. What?s the problem? Why all this fuss??
Independent Greeks was founded by Kammenos in March, adopting a strong nationalist, anti-bailout stance but also critical of the political establishment and corruption.
Kammenos suggested that he was being targeted by opponents because he had criticized the government for failing to keep state TV channels broadcasting via analogue signals, thereby forcing viewers to get digital decoders.
Earlier this month, Vyron Polydoras, the conservative New Democracy MP who served as Parliament Speaker for just one day following the inconclusive May 6 elections, responded to criticism about appointing his daughter to a parliamentary position.
Polydoras was quoted as saying that he had done nothing illegal and that Greek law actually entitled him to appoint six employees while he had appointed only one, albeit his daughter.
