The fallout from a surprise offer by the leftist SYRIZA government to nominate a one-time New Democracy minister for the post of president of the country’s independent broadcast authority continued on Sunday, with the latter referring to a “character assassination” after his former party and the opposition rejected the prospect.
Former minister Vyron Polydoras, as long-time ND deputy, minister and even interim Parliament president for a day, before later falling out with New Democracy, appeared on the state-run television station (ERT) and charged that he’s being singled out for a “character assassination” and is disappointed by his former party’s disapproval.
Greek PM Alexis Tsipras on Saturday said he’d nominate Polydoras for the post to the national radio-television council and seek a consensus for ratification, a week after the government’s landmark broadcast license law was ruled unconstitutional by a Greek high court. The ruling handed Tsipras and his leftist government a significant domestic policy defeat.
The Polydoras nomination was curtly rejected by the rest of the opposition parties in Parliament, with only Tsipras’ junior coalition party, the populist-rightist Independent Greeks’ party, enthusiastically praising the prospect.
In a later statement following Polydoras’ televised outburst, ND said that “with today’s appearance by Mr. Polydoras on ERT, everyone understood why Mr. Tsipras proposed him, and what his (Polydoras’) qualifications are”.
