In Athens, the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis applies right-wing priority, all. Today, the conservatives do not hesitate to go back to one of the emblematic legacies of the democratic transition after the fall of the colonels: the prohibition for public forces to enter university premises. In a country with 34 general practitioners and 500 police officers per 100,000 inhabitants (compared to an average of 300 police officers in the rest of the European Union), Mitsotakis has just presented a bill aimed at establishing a new specially dedicated police unit to campuses and faculties. While the budget for higher education is in free fall, the government does not skimp on spending by releasing an annual budget to recruit between 1,000 and 1,500 agents.
On paper, it is, for the right, “Restore order” in universities, often occupied by students and leftist groups. But, beyond that, for the opposition, the Syriza coalition in the lead, it is a question of “Reactionary attack”, whose “The whole democratic university community, all democrats and progressives” must request withdrawal. According to Aggeliki Adamopoulou, member of the Mera 25 movement founded by Yanis Varoufakis, “The government plans to spend 30 million euros for its university police at the same time when funds for the operation of higher education are declining. In total, the money invested represents 34% of the total university budget ”.
