Main opposition New Democracy (ND) flatly rejected a “quasi olive branch” extended by the justice minister hours earlier, with the latter offering the rival party a say in the selection of a handful of new high court justices ahead of the July 7 snap election.
In a swift reply, ND’s shadow justice minister, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, referred to an “egregiously counter-institutional procedure” that the center-right party cannot back.
Panagiotopoulos pointed to the fact that the Justice Minister, Michalis Kalogirou, himself recognized that the attempt to appoint new top justices and high court prosecutors – given that the term of the current office-holders expires on June 30 – by the outgoing Tsipras government raises a “political issue”.
