The Greek government is seeking to secure a consensus from major opposition party New Democracy on the issue of changing the country’s Supreme Court Judges, following the outcry caused by its decision to proceed despite it clearly losing the popular mandate as demonstrated in Sunday’s elections.

Minister of Justice, Michalis Kalogirou, in a letter to the leader of the New Democracy Kyriakos Mitsotakis pointed out that although “there is no constitutional or legal obstacle to the completion of the pending procedure”, “the will of the government” is to “elect the next Supreme Court President and Prosecutor and the three Vice-Presidents of the Council of State by the Council of Ministers in agreement with the Opposition”.

The government’s decision to move forward unilaterally caused a backlash as many legal experts and constitutional professors dubbed the move unconstitutional, some going as far as calling it a “coup” against Democracy.