Nikos Pappas

The government is attempting to contain the fallout from the debacle over its recent auction of television licenses so it can move on to a much-delayed reshuffle and breathe new life into the administration, possibly as early as next week.

The Greek government has backed down from its plans to introduce an interim bill that would allow TV stations to operate with temporary licenses, following opposition party New Democracy’s (ND) refusal to consent on the formation of the new National Council of Radio and Television (NCRTV) during the Parliamentary Council of Presidents session, Monday.

Despite its effort to appear open to dialogue over the way forward after its TV license law was deemed unconstitutional, the government on Monday showed no signs of seeking consensus after it submitted an amendment to Parliament that essentially suspends the right of Minister of State Nikos Pappas to grant nationwide broadcasting rights, rather than meeting the demand of opposition parties to a

Minister of State Nikos Pappas on Monday dismissed criticism concerning a 2013 trip he made to Venezuela with a Cypriot lawyer specializing in offshore companies, saying that opposition New Democracy will not free itself of responsibility for the decades of corruption that have plagued Greece with "silly" assertions.

State Minister Nikos Pappas said on Monday that the government would later submit in Parliament a provision that effectively suspends an earlier law transferring the authority for conducting an auction for television licenses from the National Broadcasting Council (ESR) to Pappas.

The Greek government is taking steps to de-escalate tensions caused over the TV license controversy, following its decision to propose Vyron Polydoras as president for the National Council of Television and Radio (NCRTV), Greece’s independent media watchdog.

Greek Minister of State Nikos Pappas, who authored the TV license law revoked by the Council of State, released a statement calling for the political parties to tone down the disagreements and move toward achieving wider consent on the matter of the new National Council of Radio and Television (NCRTV).

Major opposition party New Democracy (ND) called on the government to refrain from using “publicity tricks”, following rumours leaked by officials that the government was considering replacing the head of the National Council of Radio and Television (NCRTV) with a figure ND could not object to.

Government spokeswoman Olga Gerovassili said in the wake of a Council of State verdict deeming a recent TV license auction unconstitutional, that "nothing will stand in the way of the government's determination to bring some order to the radio and television landscape."

A verdict by the country's highest administrative court on Wednesday night overturning a recent tender of broadcasting licenses is a "dire political defeat" for the leftist-led government, opposition New Democracy said on Thursday.