Panos Kammenos

After a devastating performance in recent polls for European Parliament and regional and local government, the Independent Greeks (ANEL) party has decided to defer a decision on whether it will run in next month's general elections until a meeting on Sunday of its national council.

Independent Greeks (ANEL) leader Panos Kammenos was chairing a session of his party's parliamentary group on Monday, following its disastrous showing in last week's European Parliament polls, in a bid to decide whether or not to run in next month's snap general elections.

A lawmaker from the populist, right-wing Independent Greeks (ANEL) party denied press reports on Thursday that ANEL and its leader Panos Kammenos will not run in the upcoming national elections, saying no decisions have been taken.

Former defense minister Panos Kammenos has defended the political legacy of his Independent Greeks (ANEL) party during its now-defunct coalition with the incumbent SYRIZA leftists, ahead of municipal and European Parliament elections this weekend.

Three days after former Greek foreign minister Nikos Kotzias suggested that emails presented in Parliament by ex-defense minister Panos Kammenos as evidence that the former had favored a specific firm in a tender for issuing visas could have been hacked by the Russian secret services, the Russian Embassy in Athens Monday denied any meddling in Greece's domestic affairs.

Former foreign minister Nikos Kotzias claimed Friday that the emails presented in Parliament by former defense minister Panos Kammenos as evidence that Kotzias had favored a specific company in a tender for issuing visas were either forged or hacked by secret services.

Former defense minister Panos Kammenos and former foreign minister Nikos Kotzias clashed once again on Friday after the former claimed he had evidence that a contract for issuing visas was fixed under Kotzias' watch. 

The debate by Parliament's Ethics Committee on Wednesday was indeed a revealing one with regard to ruling SYRIZA's mind-set. Government MPs on the committee decided to make use of Article 86, concerning the prosecution of ministers, to help shield Alternate Health Minister Pavlos Polakis and the former coalition partner and Independent Greeks leader Panos Kammenos from prosecution.

Greece has the right to call off the name agreement signed with North Macedonia as the Balkan country has repeatedly violated the terms of the deal, former defense minister Panos Kammenos has said, while defending the record of his Independent Greeks (ANEL) party.
The populist right-wing party quit the leftist-led coalition in January in protest at the so-called Prespes accord.

Greek MPs are next Friday to decide whether to lift the immunity of former health minister Andreas Loverdos, an MP with Movement for Change (formerly PASOK), who has been implicated in an alleged bribery scandal involving Swiss pharmaceutical firm Novartis.