Kalogirou: ND does not want consensus, sees justice as a 'tool' of government

"The masks have fallen," Justice Minister Michalis Kalogirou said on Thursday, commenting on main opposition New Democracy's earlier refusal of his invitation to seek a consensus on the appointment of chief justices in Greece's top courts.
Addressing the arguments put forward by the main opposition for its refusal, Kalogirou pointed out that the government was not a "caretaker government" and that Parliament had not yet been disbanded. ND's refusal, he added, showed that it viewed justice as a "tool" in the hands of government.
He also underlined that "according to the Kastanidis law, which sets out the procedure, the process of appointing the leadership of justice continues as normal, even when Parliament is dissolved...the positions become vacant on June 30 and the relevant presidential decree will be issued immediately afterward. No one can know the result of the elections, how much time will be needed until a government is formed. In that time, it is essential that justice has leadership."
Kalogirou denied that the government was proceeding unilaterally, in this matter, and stressed in reply to a follow-up question that "we will not back down a single step. The matter is crystal clear and the decision will be taken by the prime minister and the cabinet."
He also pointed out that the process of appointing the new leadership of justice did not begin now but on April 30, as per the relevant law, and that the preliminary process has been carried out by the Conference of Parliament Presidents.
He categorically denied that the government intended to ask the Supreme Court president and chief prosecutor to resign to accelerate the procedure and make things easier for the government, saying that the suggestion was "not serious".