Supreme Court vice president resigns over pressure to ban party "Greeks"

On Monday, the Vice President of the Supreme Court resigned over a legal dispute with the Mitsotakis government over a far-right party ban ahead of the upcoming May 21 general election.

Vice President of the Supreme Court Christos Tsanerikos was going to head section A1, which will judge the legality of participation in the elections of all parties, including the one founded by former Golden Dawn MP Ilias Kasidiaris, who was sentenced in 2020 to 13 years because of his political activities. He resigned following backlash after his stance on Sunday following the government’s amendment that governs Section A1.

Tzanerikos publicly opposed the new amendment, calling it government interference in the judiciary. He called it “unprecedented […] and direct interference in the work of the Supreme Court.”

The judge’s statements concerned an amendment made a few days ago by Interior Minister Makis Voridis that supplemented previous legislation aimed at preventing the far right from re-infiltrating the Greek Parliament.

In the statement, Judge Tzanerikos also said that the “clear reasoning” of the amendment to support and defend any decision of the Supreme Court, so that it is not questioned, expresses “no confidence in me on the part of the government, which introduced the corresponding legislative initiative.”

Judge Tzanerikos, one of 10 sitting vice presidents on the court, resigned after the government introduced an additional bill in Parliament aimed at barring the Greeks from participating in the May 21 elections.

Party “Greeks” was founded two years ago by an imprisoned former lawmaker from the far-right Golden Dawn party. In February, Parliament approved a legislative amendment that would bar it from fielding candidates in elections. Last week’s party appointed a new leaderto try to circumvent the ban, prompting the government to introduce a new amendment expanding the scope of the ban. Tzanerikos is also calling for a plenary session of the Supreme Court to consider the ban instead of another session.

The judge publicly opposed the new amendment, calling it government interference in the judiciary. According to the vice-president of the Supreme Court, this amendment is contrary to the Greek constitution and violates the principles of democracy in elections to the country’s parliament.

Given the recent population Survey, which indicates the disappointment of the electorate in state institutions and the electoral system as a whole, the participation of the “Greeks” party can have a significant impact on the elections, sharply narrowing the possibilities of the coalition. At the same time, public opinion polls show that a clear winner is not expected.

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