Panos Kammenos

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.

Three days after former Greek foreign minister Nikos Kotzias suggested that emails presented in Parliament by ex-defense minister Panos Kammenos as evidence that the former had favored a specific firm in a tender for issuing visas could have been hacked by the Russian secret services, the Russian Embassy in Athens Monday denied any meddling in Greece's domestic affairs.

Former foreign minister Nikos Kotzias claimed Friday that the emails presented in Parliament by former defense minister Panos Kammenos as evidence that Kotzias had favored a specific company in a tender for issuing visas were either forged or hacked by secret services.

Former defense minister Panos Kammenos and former foreign minister Nikos Kotzias clashed once again on Friday after the former claimed he had evidence that a contract for issuing visas was fixed under Kotzias' watch. 

The debate by Parliament's Ethics Committee on Wednesday was indeed a revealing one with regard to ruling SYRIZA's mind-set. Government MPs on the committee decided to make use of Article 86, concerning the prosecution of ministers, to help shield Alternate Health Minister Pavlos Polakis and the former coalition partner and Independent Greeks leader Panos Kammenos from prosecution.

Greece has the right to call off the name agreement signed with North Macedonia as the Balkan country has repeatedly violated the terms of the deal, former defense minister Panos Kammenos has said, while defending the record of his Independent Greeks (ANEL) party.
The populist right-wing party quit the leftist-led coalition in January in protest at the so-called Prespes accord.

Greek MPs are next Friday to decide whether to lift the immunity of former health minister Andreas Loverdos, an MP with Movement for Change (formerly PASOK), who has been implicated in an alleged bribery scandal involving Swiss pharmaceutical firm Novartis.

The leader of the nationalist Independent Greeks (ANEL) party, Panos Kammenos, whipped up a storm of sorts on Tuesday, hinting that his successor at the Defense Ministry, Evangelos Apostolakis, was being sidelined by his alternate minister, Panagiotis Rigas, and the chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff (GES), Giorgos Kambas.

As Moscow recognized the Republic of North Macedonia by its new official name Monday, Panos Kammenos and Nikos Kotzias picked up their bickering over the so-called Prespes accord again.

Panayiotis Baltakos, an ultra-conservative senior official in the New Democracy government of Antonis Samaras, will stand as a candidate for Independent Greeks (ANEL) in the upcoming European Parliament elections, reports said Wednesday.
His candidacy was expected to be confirmed later Wednesday.