It has been in a protracted crisis for many months. Greek police, despite the government’s attempt to send – in view of the elections – a signal about the normal state of the building on Katechaki Avenue. Less than two months after the planned next crises, during which the decision was made at the highest level of government to keep the leader Konstantinos Skumas, last Saturday KYSEA decided to remove him.

With information from the former leader’s entourage that, prior to his retirement, Mr. Skumas had a meeting at the Maximos Palace with Minister of State Yorgos Gerapetritis and Deputy Minister next to Prime Minister Giannis Bratakos, to whom he conveyed his annoyance at that he was not asked about specific elections for positions of responsibility in the police.

And if Maximos Palace, after the sudden change of leadership of the Chamber, preferred to keep a low tone, then the same cannot be said about the former leader, who explained the interruption of his term by the powers of the centers of power. More than one source of information tells K that thoughts and proposals at the highest government level for the withdrawal of the army from Skuma already existed between December 2022 and January 2023. According to some reports, it is even said that government planning has advanced to such an extent that the threshold of Maximos, the successor of Mr. Skumas, the current leader of Lazaros Mavropoulos, has since passed.

The government’s plans to replace Mr. Skumas were, at least initially, the continuation of a series of personnel changes and mainly the balance of power in the Ministry of Citizens’ Protection. Many believed that the lieutenant general of Epirus was elected Deputy Minister Lefteris Economou, whose relationship with the government leadership has been put to the test since August last year. The first samples were seen already in September 2022.

Officers who served in critical positions of the Attica security service, at the initiative of the Deputy Minister, were transferred against the backdrop of a negative situation to the positions of “refrigerators”, returned with intervention from above to especially responsible positions of the National Intelligence Service. In the months that followed, Minister Takis Theodorikakos undertook, in agreement with the Prime Minister himself, to implement other changes, the most important of which was the demobilization of the heads of the Interior Service and the Intelligence Directorate. A choice with which, however, Mr. Skumas allegedly disagreed retroactively.

The leaders talk about one of the most difficult and “toxic” periods in the history of the House.

The publicity of the minister’s son’s police check case came about as a result of the demobilization of some officers, and the Maxim’s Palace provided political cover for Mr. Theodorikakos, clearly demonstrating that the central choice in the January crises was decisive. government seal.

At that time, it was decided not to change Mr. Skumas. It had only been a few months since he became leader, and the prevailing view was that any replacement would be politically exploited by the opposition. However, in the period up to last Saturday, according to the testimony of high-ranking officers, Mr. Skumas was not at all peaceful. More than one source of information describes that he “declared war” on the new head of GADA, Asterios Maciokas, arguing that as head of EL.AS. in Thessaly, he did not have enough experience to sit in the GADA electric chair.

Police disruptions were felt during the mass rallies that followed the Tempe crash. A source from Katehaki Avenue describes to “K” that the officers who were at the operational headquarters in the GADA failed to fulfill or deliberately ignored the instructions and orders of the Deputy Minister Mr. Economos and the head of the “formation” of the anarchist bloc by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Instead, the head of the GADA ordered the anarchist bloc to be “cut off” from the rest of the march, and the head of the VHT declared his inability to carry out the order.

Finally, the UAF attacked a group of demonstrators on Philellinon Street, which led to mass incidents. Describing the situation, one of the leaders of the Katehaki spoke of the “bullying of GADAarchis” by the former leader and high-ranking officials of the ministry, to which the latter replied that the police measures in Attica were overseen by the headquarters of EL.AS. this was not something new, but a tactic that had been used consistently over the past four years, sometimes in the presence of Mr. Theodorikakos. The latter, however, in order to solve the problem, decided to blockade the headquarters operations center and put Deputy Minister Lefteris Oikonoma and new leader Lazaros Mavropoulos in charge of overseeing police measures at marches and stadiums, obliging them to give a “gift” to GADA. Many see political semiotics in this choice of minister.

The meetings held during the week were attended by the Minister and Deputy Minister of Citizens’ Protection, as well as the Secretary General of Public Order Michalis Karamalakis. Some spoke of symbolic gestures meant to send a message of normalcy. However, those who are close to what is happening behind the closed doors of the mansion on Katechaki Avenue, speak of one of the most difficult and “toxic” periods in the history of the House.