The revelation of the coalition government’s General Secretary Panagiotis Baltakos’ relations with Golden Dawn and the video of his conversation with Ilias Kasidiaris came as a shock to the government, with Vice President Evangelos Venizelos demanding that the far right be purged.

The overall feeling within the government is that the publication of the controversial video was one of Golden Dawn’s last and desperate attempts to reverse the climate against it, in an effort to bolster its position in the polls ahead of the upcoming elections.

For some within New Democracy, such as Dora Bakoyanni or Dimitris Avramopoulos, the revelation did not come as much as a surprise, by pointing out that the party leaned on its right wing, in an effort to attract voters from Golden Dawn and ANEL. This is why hard line right-wing party members such as Adonis Georgiadis and Makis Voridis have assumed prominent positions in the coalition government.

Supreme Court judge replaces Baltakos

Supreme Court judge Fotis Kaimenakis will be the new secretary of the ministerial council, replacing ousted Panagiotis Baltakos. Mr. Kaimenakis has been the president of the Central Legislative Committee for a number of years and a board member of the Judicial Studies Society.

Reactions within the coalition

With the implications of Mr. Baltakos’ “revelations” regarding the course of justice in the Golden Dawn case, New Democracy was hesitant to address the issue, with Voridis claiming that Baltakos “had become independent and had a personal agenda”, while the Prime Minister’s office took the opportunity to attack the opposition.

Given however that Baltakos had such a critical position within the government and that he was personal choice of the Prime Minister, the claim that he acted “independently” is not convincing. This is indicative by Baltakos’ few supporters from New Democracy since the revelation of the video.

The Minister of Justice Charalambos Athanasiou disputed Baltakos’ claims and boasts, arguing that “since he was not a judge, he could not know the content of the case file”. Other ND executives however argue that the nature of Mr. Baltakos’ position as government’s general secretary meant he would be informed on critical issues.

The Minister of Public Order Nikos Dendias insisted that the 32 criminal cases involving Golden Dawn are not a fantasy and insisted that the entire case against the neo-Nazi party has been above board. It has been suggested that Mr. Dendias focused on the charges brought against Golden Dawn in order to contain the damage.

PASOK demands a “purge”

New Democracy’s government partner PASOK has responded to Baltakos’ removal by demanding a further “purge” of the far-right elements within the government, in an effort to secure political stability. Some critics within PASOK have argued that the Prime Minister must address the matter and commit to clearing out extremists from the government.

Mr. Venizelos remarked that “the progressive faction must be supported in order to maintain the necessary balances and guarantees within the government”, with some estimating that PASOK should have a greater say in the government, while others saw it as an appeal for the return of former government partner DIMAR to the coalition. It seems unlikely that DIMAR would consider such a possibility, at least not before the European elections.

SYRIZA concerned over democratic stability

Opposition and SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras has requested that a discussion with the participation of the political leaders be arranged as soon as possible over the next few days as he believes the revelation of the (former) general secretary’s close and secret relation to “the criminal neo-Nazi group Golden Dawn raise a major concern over democracy and stability”.

Mr. Tsipras stressed that Mr. Baltakos’ insinuations of planning to manipulate judicial officers also raise a serious institutional concern and accused the PM of “hiding”. Additionally he argued that the Prime Minister “didn’t even dismiss Mr. Baltakos, he gave him the opportunity to resign” and disputed claims that the former general secretary acted on his own behalf.

The opposition leader also spoke of the coalition government’s “ideological relations to the far right” and demanded explanations “primarily from the Prime Minister […] and the leader of PASOK, who knowingly supports a government with eclectic relations to the far right’s parastate”.