Decline of democracy in Greece: Mitsotakis systematically undermines the rule of law
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has a lot of dirt on his hands. Instead of protecting democracy, he is systematically undermining it.
Kicking Greek democracy quite hard: Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, here on a visit to Germany on 13 MayPhoto: Michael Kappeler/dpa
The collapse of the Athens Colonels’ dictatorship in the summer of 1974 paved the way for the Third Hellenic Republic. It was supposed to be the best democracy ever in this country. And it was—until Kyriakos Mitsotakis came to power.
Back in the 1910s, he was wreaking havoc in Athens as Minister for Administrative Reform, when Greece was brutally disenfranchised in the turmoil of the euro crisis. Since July 2019, Mitsotakis, leader of the conservative ND party , has held the reins as Prime Minister in Athens. His approach: to govern decisively.
The Greek Prime Minister now has a lot of dirt on his hands. First, a massive wiretapping scandal, then the cover-up following a devastating train accident, and now a major EU agricultural subsidy scandal. The rule is always: zero investigation, zero clarification. His followers and he himself always get off scot-free. Thanks to bought media and media professionals (the fourth estate), thanks to the control of the Athens judiciary (the third estate), thanks to his parliamentary majority (the second estate).
Mitsotakis’ final stab in the back of democracy: He forced five dozen government MPs in the Athens parliament to vote by postal ballot in order to defeat the opposition’s emphatic demand for the establishment of a preliminary investigation committee into the aforementioned EU agricultural subsidy scandal.
Nepotism and rampant corruption
According to the rules of procedure, postal voting is only permitted if a member of parliament is heavily pregnant or giving birth, or if a parliamentarian is away from Greece for a valid reason.
In the shadow of the Ukraine war, Mitsotakis is systematically undermining the rule of law and democracy. Whether rampant clientelism, nepotism, or rampant corruption: this explosive mix keeps Mitsotakis, scion of an old political dynasty, in power – at the expense of the majority.
If he could smear his media-appealing dog, Peanut, he would probably do so, one could jokingly quip. Joking aside: Kyriakos Mitsotakis likes to portray himself as a modernizer. In reality, he is the gravedigger of democracy in Greece.
