The government has withdrawn a legislative amendment which would transfer the Public Order portfolio from the Ministry of Interior to the Ministry of Justice.
The Minister of Interior and Administrative Reconstruction Nikos Voutsis reported that the transfer would not take place “until the government can examine all data without pressure and makes its final decisions”. Mr. Voutsis disputed allegations that there was a disagreement amongst ministers on the transfer.
The former Minister of Justice Charalambos Athanasiou favored the withdrawal of the amendment and called the government to reconsider the matter entirely, so that the Ministry of Public Order remains independent.
Meanwhile, the government and opposition butted heads in Parliament over the extent of Tuesday evening’s clashes between anarchists and the riot police in down town Athens. ND MP Vasilis Kikilias accused the government of observing policies that “benefit terrorists”.
Similarly, Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed that the government was “profoundly careless in matters that demand serious study”. SYRIZA’s Vasiliki Katrivanou responded by underlining that New Democracy is focusing on fearmongering.
