Kostas Karamanlis - Criticism

Criticism

The prime minister came under criticism during the wild fires of 2007. With hundreds of thousands of acres burning and many deaths, the government has faced growing scrutiny for its response to the fires. In the days following the fires and the seeming lack of a substantial fire-fighting response adequate to stop the blazes, the government suggested the process was not natural and the work of arsonists.

A group of Pakistani men has claimed that they were abducted by Greek and British intelligence agents in the wake of the 7 July 2005 London bombings. The governments of Greece, Pakistan and Britain have denied accusations that they were involved in the alleged detention of 28 Pakistanis for several days in Athens and Ioannina after the 7 July bombings in London. The prosecutor assigned to the case says he has no evidence of who committed the abductions, but the main opposition party PASOK has called for the resignation of Greek public order minister Georgios Voulgarakis. An unnamed human rights group (possibly biased) also called for the resignation of the Prime Minister, Kostas Karamanlis over the allegations.

A number of serious scandals involving Karamanlis' closest ministers and members of his party surfaced during his term, damaging his public image severely. Karamanlis was largely elected in 2004 due to his plea to "clear" public life from corruption.

Another criticism against Karamanlis and his cabinet involved the 2008 riots, which started after the killing of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos by a police officer; police said Grigoropoulos was with a company of 4 teenagers who used hard language to a few policemen by a car. One officer has been charged, and Reuters noted that "Greece has a tradition of violence at student rallies and fire bomb attacks by anarchist groups." Amnesty International called for a speedy investigation. The death of Grigoropoulos resulted in large demonstrations and widespread riots in major Greek and foreign cities. It is widely believed that the deep reason behind this unrest of the youth was reaction to the scandalous life of Karamanlis' close circle.

After he left office, many in Greece continued to blame the New Democracy governments of Karamanlis for economic difficulties, and both financial markets and Greece's EU partners chastised the country for vastly underestimated budget deficits under his watch .