Plenty of questions remain in the wake of the mass sending of unsolicited emails by MEP Anna Michelle Asimakopoulou’s office to expatriate Greek citizens – ostensibly part of campaigning for the upcoming European Parliament election – with an internal investigation by the interior ministry having identified the source of the email list leak.
Reports point to a subordinate of now former interior ministry general secretary Michalis Stavrianoudakis as responsible for forwarding the list to ruling New Democracy (ND) party’s secretary for Diaspora affairs, Nikos Theodoropoulos, who’s identified as forwarding the list to the ND MEP’s side.
Several users took to social media in early March after receiving the unsolicited emails from Asimakopoulou’s office, following notifications by Greece’s interior ministry on the process governing postal voting for the upcoming EP election. Since then dozens of Greek citizens permanently or temporarily residing abroad have filed lawsuits against the Greek state for breach of personal data. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis subsequently decided to leave off the incumbent from ND’s candidate list for the June European elections due to the incident, while he announced an internal investigation by the ministry in the wake of the furor.
The political opposition in the country sharply condemned the incident, while demanding the resignation of Minister of Interior Niki Kerameus.
The person allegedly responsible for leaking the list, Theodoropoulos, is one of part of a y0unger generation of ND cadres who through the use of political power and state resources apparently sought to increase his influence within the ruling party. A very active user of social media, he often posted photos alongside Greek political figures, including Mitsotakis and Kerameus.
Theodoropoulos was also a confidant of former chief of staff to the Prime Minister, Grigoris Dimitriadis, a key figure in the Predator scandal, and was reportedly involved in the “Omada Alithias (Truth Team)”, an online media group well known for posting videos attacking ND’s political opponents and promoting the party’s positions.
Despite his culpability in the email leak, he was among the first to defend Anna Michel Asimakopoulou when the incident surfaced and even shared the news of the upcoming internal probe at the ministry four days later.
Both Nikos Theodoropoulos and the now former general secretary’s subordinate have since been cashiered.
