Greek PM sacks police minister in mini reshuffle, key posts unchanged

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis appointed a new police minister on Wednesday as part of a mini cabinet reshuffle aimed at boosting his conservative government ahead of expected reforms this year.

A government official earlier said the prime minister, who was re-elected in June 2023 and has a majority of eight seats in the 300-seat parliament, wanted to make “targeted corrective moves”.

Mitsotakis left key ministers in place to signal policy continuity for the economy, defence and foreign affairs.

He switched some ministers around including Michalis Chrysohoidis, who was moved from the Health Ministry to the Civil Protection Ministry – that supervises police – replacing Giannis Oikonomou. Adonis Georgiadis was moved from the Labour Ministry to the Health Ministry.

Chrysohoidis has held the civil protection post several times in the past two decades and was overseeing the ministry when Greece dismantled November 17, Greece’s most lethal guerrilla group, in 2002.

His reappointment at the job comes after a series of violent incidents, including the death of a 31-year-old police officer who was injured by a flare in clashes that broke out during a volleyball match last month.

Earlier this week, Mitsotakis said that 2024 would be a prelude to a new era for the country that needed “a rushing wave of changes” and that he believed European parliament elections later this year would reaffirm political stability.

Mitsotakis has promised to legalise same-sex marriage and his government is expected to submit a bill which opens the way for the operation of private universities in the country. Both reforms are likely to meet opposition.