Greece’s Migration Ministry sees another hard-liner as chief

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    In Athens, Greece, Thanos Plevris, a member of the hard-right political wing, has been appointed as the new migration and asylum minister. This appointment follows the resignation of his predecessor, Makis Voridis, a significant figure in the right-wing political sphere, who stepped down to address allegations of involvement in a fraudulent scheme related to agricultural subsidies.

    These allegations were brought to light by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which conducted a thorough investigation and subsequently presented their findings to the Greek Parliament. The findings suggest potential involvement of various government ministers in this purported fraud. However, prosecution of these members requires a parliamentary vote to lift their immunity.

    In his resignation, Voridis adamantly refuted any illegal activities. He stated that his decision to resign was driven by a desire to clear his name. He defended his tenure as the minister of agricultural development and foods between July 2019 and January 2021, highlighting that he had imposed limits on individual subsidies and initiated numerous investigations. Critics, however, argue these actions imply his awareness of the corruption within the subsidy system, which he allegedly failed to address.

    In conjunction with Voridis’s resignation, four other lawmakers also stepped down on Friday, including three former deputy ministers of the Agricultural Policy Ministry and a current deputy minister. Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis announced their successors on Saturday, confirming that they are set to be sworn in on Monday.

    Despite the changes in leadership, Greece’s stringent migration policies are expected to remain unchanged under the guidance of Plevris. Like Voridis and the current health minister Adonis Georgiadis, Plevris transitioned to the conservative New Democracy party in 2012, departing from the right-populist Popular Orthodox Rally, known as LAOS.

    Before his time with LAOS, Voridis held the position of leader for the youth wing of the far-right National Political Union, an appointment by the imprisoned former dictator George Papadopoulos. He succeeded Nikos Michaloliakos, later the founder of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, who is currently imprisoned for leading what was deemed by courts a “criminal gang.”

    Voridis also founded the far-right Hellenic Front party and actively participated in various municipal and national elections from 1994 to 2004. Notably, in 2000, he partnered with Thanos Plevris’s father, Konstantinos, a recognized far-right activist and self-identified “proud fascist.” Voridis joined the LAOS party in 2006 and has served as a lawmaker since 2007.

    Acknowledged as a significant political figure, Voridis could have been a potential leader within the conservative realm were it not for his controversial far-right history, marked sometimes by violence. Today, Voridis positions himself as an economic liberal and a “non-extreme” nationalist.