Politics
Parliament prepares for confrontation over spying as long-term consequences loom
The political jousting between the government and the opposition over the phone-tapping scandal that began on Monday as Parliament resumed activities following the summer recess is set to intensify in the build-up to the party leaders’ debate scheduled for Friday.
Electricity price shock, pressure on phone-tapping take shine off surveillance exit
Within hours of the government celebrating Greece’s formal exit from the post-bailout enhanced surveillance regime, the storm clouds were gathering as energy companies announced another round of increases and the opposition mustered to demand questions on the phone-tapping affair.
Athens ponders latest diplomatic moves by Turkey
Greek and Cypriot officials spent much of the summer discussing how they would react in case Turkey’s drillship Abdülhamid Han would sail within the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone or disputed waters in the Aegean.
Imminent parliamentary clash over phone-tapping puts PM on alert
Greece’s politicians are gearing up for the first head-on clash over phone-tapping next week, which is forcing Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to be on his toes for potential dissent within his own ranks as well as attacks from the opposition benches in Parliament.
Govt puts focus on handouts, migration to take heat off surveillance affair
With the opposition intent on cornering Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis over his management of the intelligence service and the surveillance of politicians and journalists, the government is focussed on pulling together an economic package which it hopes will strike a chord with ordinary voters.
Phone-tapping scandal causing ripple effect across political scene
Government officials are targeting the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) in early September, when Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will announce more cost-of-living relief measures, as an escape from the mounting pressure caused by the spying scandal.
Political impact of spying revelations unclear, as drip-feed of information continues
More revelations about the phone-tapping scandal threatening to engulf the Mitsotakis government are expected to surface in the coming days, leading up to the reopening of Parliament and the initiation of the inquiries looking into the affair.
ND struggles to shift spotlight away from wiretapping fallout
New Democracy’s efforts to shift attention away from the spying scandal are being tripped up by the continued muddled messaging emanating from the ruling centre-right party, which is hoping that Greece’s imminent exit from the enhanced surveillance of its lenders and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair next month will prove welcome distractions.
PASOK and SYRIZA turn up heat on govt as surveillance case realigns political forces
Political pressure on Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his government intensified on Wednesday, when PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis rejected the government’s handling of the revelation that he had been the subject of surveillance by Greece’s intelligence service.
No let-up in pressure over spying scandal as govt unveils intelligence agency changes
Looking to deflect some of the criticism over the spying scandal that has gripped Greek politics, the government has fast-tracked reform of the National Intelligence Service (EYP), hoping this will convince the public that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is determined to put right the mistakes that led to the agency monitoring PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis.