Greek PM seeks ‘reset’ with former far-right activist as migration minister

The Greek prime minister has appointed a former far-right student activist to the helm of the migration ministry as part of a broad reshuffle aimed at “resetting” his government amid public outrage over its handling of a deadly 2023 train crash.

In an attempt to stem declining approval ratings, Kyriakos Mitsotakis placed the self-described nationalist, Makis Voridis, in the sensitive post while selecting a number of younger officials to key portfolios including the transport ministry.

Officials called the shake-up “a significant renewal” of forces at a time when the centre-right administration has faced unprecedented protests over the rail disaster.

The new transport minister, Christos Dimas, who taught in the UK before going into politics, will supervise the overhaul of a rail network whose safety gaps have been blamed for the crash that left 57 dead and dozens injured when an intercity passenger train collided head-on with a freight train on 28 February 2023. The appointment to the finance ministry of the popular US-educated computer scientist Kyriakos Pierrakakis is also seen as injecting an air of regeneration into a government in its sixth year in office. Pierrakakis, 42, who moves from the education ministry, is from the centre-left.

But commentators said with Mitsotakis confronting growing criticism from supporters of his own centre-right New Democracy party, the reshuffle was also aimed at solidifying his traditional conservative base.

“It’s as much about reinforcing his control over his own parliamentary group and sending the message that from now on there’ll be a more conservative, hardline stance on migration,” said the European affairs analyst Yannis Koutsomitis. “It’s also a clear signal to Europe and Washington that ‘we’re on the same wavelength.’”

Once caught on camera wielding an axe as he chased leftist fellow students, Voridis, 60, emerged on the political scene as the head of the youth wing of Epen, the far-right party founded by the former dictator Georgios Papadopoulos. With a seat in the European parliament, the group enjoyed close ties with France’s late National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, openly espousing many of his extremist views.

Voridis has long depicted Muslim immigrants as a threat to Europe and the social cohesion of Greece, a frontline EU member state that has seen successive waves of incoming asylum seekers over the past decade.

On Friday the leftwing opposition Syriza party described the reshuffle as “an insult to Greek society”.

The prominent anti-racist group Keerfa said the appointment of Voridis signalled a far-right turn, and predicted mass deportations at a time when New Democracy’s appeal had dwindled amid persistent claims that the government had “covered up” the train disaster. “[His] appointment shows that it will try to use racism and an opening to the far right to deal with the anger,” it said, arguing that with Donald Trump back in power the ruling party “saw opportunities” in adopting policies that would help pick up votes lost to parties on the far right.

The changes were announced a day after a veteran conservative, Konstantinos Tasoulas, was sworn in as the country’s president, replacing the liberal former judge and first female head of state Katerina Sakellaropoulou.

Once seen as unassailable, Mitsotakis’s popularity has dropped dramatically although his government survived a parliamentary vote of no confidence last week over the crash. With general elections not due until 2027, political analysts say there is still time to win back public confidence but few believe Friday’s changes will be enough to stem popular anger. “It is uncertain whether such changes would alter people’s perception of the government or make it more effective,” said the political analyst Costas Panagopoulos.