The former vice president of the Greek Supreme Court has claimed that the government attempted to bribe him to vote for banning an ultranationalist party ahead of elections in May.
Judge Christos Tzanerrikos accused the unnamed official of interfering in the judiciary’s independence by offering him a position on a government-appointed judicial commission in exchange for a favourable ruling on a proposed ban on the Greek National Party.
Greek lawmakers have been engaged in a year-long battle to proscribe the National Party from standing in next month’s general election, as the party crossed the 3% threshold in opinion polls, the number needed to gain representation in parliament.
The Greek Parliament overwhelmingly voted to ban the National Party Tuesday, April 11th, with allegations that the party was a front for the already banned neo-fascist Golden Dawn.
Judge Tzanerrikos had previously resigned from the Supreme Court due to parliamentary attempts to bypass the Supreme Court with their own legislation.
Greek authorities are wary of a repeat of the rise of the Golden Dawn movement, when, in the 2010s, the explicitly neo-fascist party captured 7% of the vote and posed a direct threat to the Greek state.
The Supreme Court originally intended to decide solely on the legality of the National Party before the Parliament formulated legislation that would ban all parties with criminal connections from running for office. National Party leader Elias Kasidiaris, who is currently jailed for membership in the illegal Golden Dawn, had resigned from his leadership role to sidestep the new law.
The accusations have sparked controversy with left-wing opposition party Syriza calling for the official who attempted to bribe Judge Tzanerrikos to be named. The Greek Communist Party abstained from voting for the government bill saying that the new legislation could be used against parties other than the far right.
Greeks will head to the polls on May 21st in an election campaign dominated by migration, living standards, and Greece’s relationship with Turkey. The ruling conservative New Democracy Party is expected to triumph despite its popularity being dented in the wake of February’s train disaster and the rise of a grassroots protest movement against corruption and poor safety standards.
The bribery claim underlines the endemic corruption in Greek society, as European investigators continue to examine accusations that the Greek government illegally exported spyware to non-EU countries and used it internally to gather intelligence on opposition figures.
