Independent Greeks

Transparency is a great thing - so great that every democratic country should have it. In that sense, a recent opinion piece in Ta Nea newspaper by Movement for Change (KINAL) MP and former health minister Andreas Loverdos in which he asks for the next Parliament to examine "SYRIZA's attempt to establish a state separate from the democracy of transparency" makes sense.

Terence Quick, the former deputy minister of state with Independent Greeks during the nationalist party's coalition with ruling SYRIZA will be running in next month's snap elections with the incumbent leftists.

According to an announcement from SYRIZA, the ex-television journalist will be running for a seat in Parliament representing Athens' northern constituency.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' meeting with President Prokopis Pavlopoulos this afternoon the result of which is the dissolution of Parliament and the proclamation of a general election for 7 July marks the formal start of the electoral campaign.

The prime minister's rationale for calling the snap election is the course of the Greek economy and the need to stabilise it.

The Independent Greeks, the former junior coalition partner of ruling left-wing Syriza, will not contest the July national election, party president Panos Kammenos announced Sunday.

After a devastating performance in recent polls for European Parliament and regional and local government, the Independent Greeks (ANEL) party has decided to defer a decision on whether it will run in next month's general elections until a meeting on Sunday of its national council.

Independent Greeks (ANEL) leader Panos Kammenos was chairing a session of his party's parliamentary group on Monday, following its disastrous showing in last week's European Parliament polls, in a bid to decide whether or not to run in next month's snap general elections.

A lawmaker from the populist, right-wing Independent Greeks (ANEL) party denied press reports on Thursday that ANEL and its leader Panos Kammenos will not run in the upcoming national elections, saying no decisions have been taken.

Main opposition New Democracy is 6.3 percentage points ahead of ruling SYRIZA, according to an opinion poll carried out by ALCO for broadcaster Open and published on Monday.
The poll found that ND would garner 29.9 percent of the vote if snap polls were held now compared to 23.6 percent for SYRIZA, with socialist KINAL and neo-Nazi Golden Dawn both coming in third with 5.7 percent.

Former defense minister Panos Kammenos has defended the political legacy of his Independent Greeks (ANEL) party during its now-defunct coalition with the incumbent SYRIZA leftists, ahead of municipal and European Parliament elections this weekend.

A new round of political acrimony is expected this week as Parliament opens discussions Wednesday on a confidence vote called by the government in response to a censure motion filed by opposition New Democracy Monday against Alternate Health Minister Pavlos Polakis.