Dimitris Kammenos ( el, Δημήτρης Καμμένος) is a Greek politician who served for less than one day as Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks in the Second Tsipras Cabinet.

Controversy

In June 2015, Kammenos posted a doctored image on Facebook of the gate to Auschwitz concentration camp, replacing the words "Work Sets You Free" (german: Arbeit Macht Frei) with "We Stay in Europe", mocking pro-EU demonstrators. Kammenos later apologised, saying: "The comparison may have been unfortunate but there is an economic holocaust under way in my country." He was criticised for his statements by the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece and others. In the past, Kammenos has also insinuated that Jewish people were responsible for the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

, falsely claiming, "and let's not forget that among the 2,500 Jews working at the Twin Towers not one went to work that day."

Political career

Kammenos was elected as a Member of Parliament for the Independent Greeks (ANEL) party representing Piraeus B region. In the Second Tsipras Cabinet, on 23 September 2015, Kammenos was sworn in as Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks, "on the recommendation of his coalition partner"

Panos Kammenos Panagiotis "Panos" Kammenos ( el, Παναγιώτης "Πάνος" Καμμένος, ; born 12 May 1965) is a Greek politician and the founder of the right-wing party "Independent Greeks", which formed the governing coalition of the Hellenic Par ...

. Syriza MP Vassiliki Katrivanou expressed "disappointment and indignation" at the appointment of Kammenos, and appealed to Alexis Tsipras to remove him from office. Following pressure from within the government, Kammenos was asked to step down, according to party leader

, "until the truth was established" surrounding his "anti-Semitic and homophobic remarks." He resigned after just 12 hours in Cabinet. On 16 June 2018, Dimitris Kammenos voted against his party and supported a

motion of no-confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

against the Second Tsipras Cabinet concerning the

Prespa agreement The Prespa agreement,; In mk, Договорот од Преспа, translit=Dogovorot od Prespa or Преспански договор, ''Prespanski dogovor'' also known as the Treaty of Prespa, the Prespes deal or the Prespa accord, is an agre ...

, a proposal that would result in the

Republic of Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

being renamed the ''Republic of North Macedonia''. Kammenos was expelled from the party immediately after the vote, leaving the coalition with a majority of three. In response to the Greco-FYROMese agreement, Kammenos announced creation of his own political party Force of Hellenism ( el, Δύναμη Ελληνισμού), whose goal would be to stop the Macedonian naming deal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kammenos, Dimitris Living people 1966 births Independent Greeks politicians Politicians from Athens