Laura Kovesi, chief prosecutor at the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, speaks at the 11th Delphi Economic Forum in Delphi, on Thursday. [Charis Akriviadis/EPA]
Continued attacks against Europe’s top public prosecutor, Laura Kovesi, from Greek politicians, sometimes regarding her origin and cultural background, other times about her alleged hidden agenda and mental state (she has obsessions, they say), are interesting to the extent that they reveal the panic of those affected by the European and national demand for transparency and accountability.
Indeed, those annoyed by Kovesi’s work unwittingly facilitate her, at least in terms of the public’s perception of her; their gloom betrays their fear and reinforces the worst suspicions of citizens: Anyone dissatisfied with an investigation confirms the need for it to be conducted. But beyond the political noise, these attacks are indifferent. It does not matter whether one likes the head of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office or not.
What matters is that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is doing a job that would not need to be done (at least not to this extent and with this intensity) if the Greek state was functioning properly. Therefore, the New Democracy lawmakers who continue to publicly express their disapproval of Kovesi have only themselves to blame. The prosecutor is here not because of some whim, but because they did their job poorly.
Talking politics
The European Public Prosecutor has probably understood that the OPEKEPE scandal, in addition to being a legal issue, has also created a major sociopolitical one: In a country with a tradition of division and political instability, phenomena that highlight the unreliability of the state widen the gap between citizens and power. This means, however, that such phenomena require very careful management, so as not to lead to widespread social disintegration.
In this sense, and since Kovesi decided to visit Greece and speak publicly on a platform not directly related to her institutional role, such as the Delphi Economic Forum, it would perhaps be wise to avoid political critique and limit herself to legal issues. For what reason did the head of the EPPO consider it appropriate to speak about the country’s political culture?
How is the investigation of possible crimes connected to her personal view of the mentality of Greek citizens or to slick metaphors about how we swipe “the dirt” out of our homes? Kovesi’s analysis of Greek reality is not wrong, but it seems like a political statement without any relevant legitimacy. “Do you have a problem? Do your job!” the prosecutor said, speaking about the duty of politicians and prosecutors to carry out their duties without obstacles. Are “defiant” messages part of her job?
What we deserve
There is another way of seeing this, of course. A country as deeply immersed in clientelism and cronyism as Greece does not have the luxury of demanding institutional courtesies from those who are engaged in the feat of cleaning it up. Is Kovesi authoritarian? Is she exceeding the limits of her capacity? Maybe.
But at what stage would the investigation into the alleged fraud in the state-run agency responsible for distributing EU aid to farmers be in without her “menacing” presence? Would we be talking about a scandal today? Would we even know that it happened? If Greece needs Kovesi in 2026 to stop the squandering of European money and combat its systemic corruption, then Kovesi is what it deserves, with all her possible flaws.
So, there’s no need to wail about our misfortunes, but no celebrations are required either. Some of those who today praise the European Public Prosecutor for her strength, did not view with the same enthusiasm the effort of other European institutions to bring order to the Greek state’s fiscal anarchy a few years ago. Back then, they spoke of an illegal intervention in our internal affairs and the destruction of democracy. It seems that they have learned from their mistakes. Let us hope that this misadventure will be equally instructive for everyone.