Government on a slippery slope

Two prominent judicial officials were selected on Friday to replace the outgoing president and prosecutor of the Supreme Court despite intense criticism by legal experts and the political opposition over the legitimacy of the process before a snap election takes place on July 7.
Their appointments were announced by the cabinet after a recommendation by Justice Minister Michalis Kalogirou.

Dimitra Kokotini and Irini Kalou, both currently vice presidents of the court, will respectively replace top prosecutor Xeni Dimitriou and court president Vasilios Peppas who will resign on June 30.

The government's decision to proceed with the move has now placed President Prokopis Pavlopoulos in the frame and he will be called upon to ratify the appointments with a presidential decree.

However, as Kathimerini reported on Thursday, Pavlopoulos, a constitutional lawyer,...