One jaw-dropping statement heard this week came in Parliament during debate on a draft law to re-establish state broadcaster ERT, where ruling SYRIZA MP Stathis Panagoulis called for the rehiring all of sacked ERT’s employees, “and especially those who worked for SYRIZA to come to power”.
The previous Samaras government abruptly shut down ERT in June 2013 and fired its workforce, replacing the broadcaster with a much slimmed down version (Nerit) months later, and with a fraction of its former staff.
Panagoulis is the younger brother of better known Alekos Panagoulis, who during the junta in Greece (1967-74) tried to assassinate dictator Papadopoulos. He was captured, tortured and imprisoned, only to die in a car accident after the restoration of democracy in 1976.
