Conservative MP exposes breach in hiring process

New Democracy’s shadow minister of administrative reform, Giorgos Georgantas, yesterday revealed documents to back repeated claims that ministers in the leftistled government have been made privy to the names and qualifications of candidates for dozens of key posts at general secretariats, violating the confidentiality of the process.

Georgantas presented documents from the Supreme Council for Civil Personnel Selection (ASEP), which is responsible for public sector hirings, showing that it gave ministers the names of the candidates who responded to advertisements for the positions after the Special Administrative Selection Council (ESED) briefed four ministers on the professional details of certain applicants for posts under their purview.

The conservative lawmaker has repeatedly challenged the government in Parliament over what he claims are efforts to manipulate the public sector hiring process in order to accommodate cronies in key posts, and has filed a formal question with Administrative Reform Minister Olga Gerovasili – which so far has gone unanswered.

“SYRIZA’s ministers, who for months have been aiming at appointing their people as general secretaries without due process... asked for and received, illegally, the candidates’ files from ASEP,” Georgantas said, going on to accuse Gerovasili of deliberately hiding evidence of such actions.