Adonis Georgiadis comes to Imperial. Great…

This Sunday, Adonis Georgiadis will be the main guest in the final event of the “Greek Presidency in London” initiative held at Imperial, and will serve as representative of the Greek government. Adonis Georgiadis is a controversial political figure in Greece. Starting off with participation in the nationalist Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) he was first elected to the Greek parliament under the nationalist party banner in 2007, re-elected in 2009 and in 2010 was LAOS’s candidate in the periphery elections for Attica (the periphery containing Athens). He now serves as Minister of Health.

Georgiadis is considered by many a demagogue, a political figure that appeals to the emotions, fears and prejudices of the people instead of using logical arguments to make his point and gain the support of the ‘mob’. Ironically, the birth place of demagogues and sophists (ancient Athens) is often featured in the books Georgiadis has made a living selling on shopping channels.

A quick search will provide plenty of ‘controversy’ surrounding Georgiadis on a variety of subjects, if racist and xenophobic can be considered controversial. Regarding the far-right, he has expressed support for the Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas (self coup: 1936) and has claimed that there was no popular opposition to the 1967-1974 junta, that led to a tragic bloodshed of student blood during the Greek National Technical University Uprising. Additionally he has regularly expressed anti-immigration remarks with Albanian and Muslim immigrants often being the target.

Since his election as Minister of Health, Georgiadis has had the opportunity to make his views a morbid reality for some. This summer he established mandatory HIV testing for high risk groups such as sex workers, drug users and undocumented immigrants; a violation of basic human rights that caused an outcry from many human rights organizations including Doctors of the World.

The regulation was first implemented by A. Loverdos in 2012 and resulted in the roundup of alleged sex workers, which were subsequently HIV tested and if found HIV positive were arrested, charged with a felony and had their personal data released from the police and the media to the public. Imposing this regulation only reveals the Health Minister’s eagerness to target vulnerable groups that do not agree with his orthodox views.

On Sunday this man, the Greek Minister of Health, will come to speak to Imperial College students about progress, when thousands of people back in Greece can’t afford basic health care, where cancer is left untreated and diabetes leads to amputation; all this in a modern European country. He comes as a guest of IC Hellenic (synonym for Greek) society, which I sincerely hope neither represent the views of the members of the society nor the Greeks back home. He comes to an institution that celebrates diversity to pretend that he does too.

He will come and, through misdirection, avoid urgent matters that need to be discussed and dismiss those who dare question his political views and background as left-wing extremists. He is a political chameleon and therefore probably a master in politics. So go and take notes because this is your chance to see what a true Greek politician really is like.