The Alternate Minister of Health Pavlos Polakis appeared to double down after the controversy he caused by blatantly attacking ALPHA TV’s journalist, Evangelia Tsikrika and SKAI TV journalist Pavlos Tsimas. Emboldened by the support offered to him by the SYRIZA party through statements made by spokesperson Rania Sviggou, who said reporters were ‘targeting him’, Polakis uploaded a new post on his Facebook page making it clear that he refused to back down. He claimed he was a victim of profanities, lies and insults hurled at him by journalists. Polakis argued there was a concerted effort to ’assassinate his character’ by the media. ‘I am too high, scientifically, in values and ethically for you to tarnish me or degrade me’, he wrote in his post, concluding that the journalists did not have anything against him, which is why he would not bow down. Polakis had attacked Tsimas, accusing him of bidding for his bosses because he loved money. Tsimas on his part, responded by saying that even though he believed Polakis was unaccountable, he wondered how his colleagues in the SYRIZA government remained silent on his behaviour, which was incompatible with a democracy and free press. Former leader of PASOK, Evangelos Venizelos commented on Polaki’s attacks against the media by saying he was a provocation to the democratic and parliamentary institutions. The President of the River party, Stavros Theodorakis noted the Minister was out of touch with reality, dubbing him a docile party servant who fought anyone who went up against the SYRIZA system. Finally, major opposition party New Democracy, commented on the issue by wondering in a press release whether Greek PM Alexis Tsipras was a mutated version of Polakis. Political pundits believe the government has remained silent in order to avoid being associated with Polakis, concerned that it would be linked to the many jobs lost in the media industry after the TV licence tender.