(ANSAmed) - ATHENS, AUGUST 10 - A Greek politician who
stirred anger by hiring his daughter in parliament on the one
day he was house speaker faced public calls for his resignation
on Thursday amid widespread disenchantment with the ruling
class. Weathering its fifth year of recession and battling to
remain inside the euro, many people in Greece blame the
mainstream political parties that have ruled the country for
almost four decades for cronyism in the bloated public sector,
CNBC reported. Against such a backdrop, as Greek website
Capital.gr notes, the case of Conservative New Democracy MP
Vyron Polydoras has struck a nerve. He was appointed parliament
speaker on May 18 for just one day after an inconclusive general
election on May 6, in a temporary cabinet whose only purpose was
to call a repeat vote for June 17. Polydoras used his brief
spell as speaker to make his daughter a permanent employee in
his office, according to published official documents. Like
other civil servants, that meant she could not be fired under
the constitution. Local media slammed the move as "immoral" and
a Facebook page titled "Polydoras's resignation now" had more
than 2,200 fans on Thursday. The public backlash came as new
data on Thursday showed Greece's jobless rate climbed to a new
record in May, with nearly 55% of those aged 15-24 out of work.
Polydoras, a flamboyant politician who likes to quote ancient Greek philosophers, rushed to defend himself on Thursday, saying he had every right to give his daughter the job. "I filled the position of just one employee - instead of six - by appointing my daughter who is a close, valuable colleague," Polydoras was quoted as saying by the Eleftheros Typos newspaper. "She has three Master's degrees, speaks four languages and I ask myself why this issue was made public now," he added. Private sector workers have long complained that public offices are filled with idle civil servants who are put there in return for votes and are then protected by the constitution from being sacked. "Byron Polydoras was house speaker for just one day," Greek commentator Ilias Kanellis wrote in Ta Nea. "Had he stayed one more day, would he hire his other daughter as well?" (ANSAmed).
Polydoras, a flamboyant politician who likes to quote ancient Greek philosophers, rushed to defend himself on Thursday, saying he had every right to give his daughter the job. "I filled the position of just one employee - instead of six - by appointing my daughter who is a close, valuable colleague," Polydoras was quoted as saying by the Eleftheros Typos newspaper. "She has three Master's degrees, speaks four languages and I ask myself why this issue was made public now," he added. Private sector workers have long complained that public offices are filled with idle civil servants who are put there in return for votes and are then protected by the constitution from being sacked. "Byron Polydoras was house speaker for just one day," Greek commentator Ilias Kanellis wrote in Ta Nea. "Had he stayed one more day, would he hire his other daughter as well?" (ANSAmed).
