Following a recent incident at the Polytechnic campus, Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis made it clear in a 5 May interview that he believes there must be "automatic disciplinary consequences" for students who, in his words, "confuse freedom of expression with organised violence." He threatened that such students should be expelled from public universities, promising that his government would insist on this and find a way to enforce it. His comments marked a a sharp escalation in authoritarian rhetoric and an openly repressive stance.

In the wake of public concern recently stirred up around “youth delinquency,” the Greek government now seems to be turning its attention to university students. The justification comes from an incident that occurred on 5 May, when a group of individuals tried to post political material in a university canteen. The canteen’s operator attempted to stop them, which led to a confrontation and, reportedly, a physical assault.

Engaging in fearmongering over the state of public universities, the PM is now pushing for even harsher disciplinary measures against students – the same students, he acknowledged, who worked hard to gain admission to public universities. Speaking to ERT, he claimed: “We’ve already taken significant steps, but there’s still a lot more that needs to be done in this area.”

He pointed out, with some self-satisfaction, that there are currently no ongoing student sit-ins or occupations within university grounds – largely due to the increased police presence and interventions. “This is a far cry from what we were used to in the past,” he said.

“University asylum, in practice, no longer exists. Police can now enter campuses when called upon by university authorities – and they can do so immediately. But I won’t dwell on what we’ve already done. I want to talk about what still needs to happen.”

He went on to say that it’s now absolutely necessary for universities – particularly those deemed to be “at risk” – to finalise and implement security plans that are still pending.

“These mustn’t be theoretical exercises,” he said, “but real, actionable strategies. If they fail to do so, there will be consequences – and a clear framework of sanctions for all involved if rules aren’t followed.”

“I don’t want to say too much just yet,” he added,”because I believe the Education Minister will soon be able to make specific announcements at the upcoming Rectors’ Summit. But everyone has to take responsibility – including the government. I’m not interested in playing the blame game. What people want is for us to solve problems, not pass the buck. We need to work closely with university leadership and prioritise key departments. We know which ones. And we should start seeing immediate results. What used to be the norm must now be the rare exception – and even the exceptions can’t be tolerated anymore.”

In closing, Mitsotakis doubled down on the idea of stricter punishments.

“We cannot continue without automatic disciplinary action for students who confuse expressing an opinion with threatening others or using violence to impose their views. Universities should be spaces for free speech – not intimidation and violence. If you belong to the latter group, you have no place in a public university. We’ll be relentless in making sure such individuals are removed, using every legal means at our disposal.”

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