Makis Voridis: A Short Profile

Makis Voridis has been appointed Greece’s new Minister for Migration and Asylum. A long-time figure in Greek politics with strong roots in the far-right, his appointment has drawn attention both domestically and internationally.

His stated priorities include combating “illegal immigration” and increasing returns, raising concerns about potential implications for refugee rights and stricter border practices. What is his political trajectory and what policies has he pursued so far?

Credits: e-reportaz.gr

Introduction

On March 16, 2025, Makis Voridis was appointed as the new Minister for Migration and Asylum of the Hellenic Republic. Voridis hails from the far-right wing of the ruling government party, New Democracy. During his first speech as minister, he underlined the following: “I have truly clear and strong ideological views on the immigration [issue]. The order is to do what we must, to confront illegal immigration and to organize the returns.” This last phrase is significant, as it refers to the practice of pushbacks, which until recently the government had officially denied doing. His selection to lead the ministry has additionally made headlines outside the country, with journalists highlighting his violent activist past as a member of the youth faction of  EPEN, a small political party founded by the former dictator Georgios Papadopoulos. Given his political background and trajectory so far, his appointment could indicate a further tightening of the country’s border policies – and a corresponding weakening of refugees’ and migrants’ fundamental rights. This development follows an EU-wide trend that has increasingly gained traction after the fall of the Assad regime, highlighted in our previous article. In this article, the Project Elpida Team answers the questions: what is Voridis’ background exactly, and how does his appointment signify a more hardline stance on the issue of migration and asylum?

From yielding axes to becoming a rising star of the extreme right

Voridis first appeared at the political forefront in 1984, becoming president of the youth wing of the far-right extra-parliamentary  EPEN party, which was founded by former dictator Georgios Papadopoulos, who spearheaded the last military dictatorship in the country (1967-1974). Voridis visited the jailed dictator at the Korydallos Prison in Athens and got his personal approval to become the new leader of the party. One year later, he was removed from the student council of the Law Faculty of the University of Athens. In response, a few months later, Voridis led an assault with about twenty fellow EPEN members against left-wing students at the faculty, hunting them down with an axe and iron barges. This infamous incident gave rise to his nickname “the axe-man” (ο τσεκουράτος in Greek), which has followed him ever since. Notably, he was never convicted for these violent actions by any court, even though a lawsuit was filed against him, and his axe-holding photo became the front page in almost all major media outlets of the country.

1994 was a turning point for Voridis, as he attempted to enter mainstream politics for the first time by founding the far-right party National Front, modelled after the infamous French party led by Jean-Marie Le Pen. In this new party, one would find Voridis’ former EPEN comrades, neo fascists from the smaller party ENEK, and members of MAVI, a small paramilitary organization. In 1995, MAVI members attempted to assault a military base in southern Albania, hoping to provoke a diplomatic crisis between Greece and Albania and achieve the irredentist dream of Greek nationalists of liberating “Northern Epirus,” meaning a part of Southern Albania with an important Greek minority. After the assault, some of the leaders of the organization were arrested. Significantly, Voridis appeared in front of the prosecutor and testified in favor of one of the ringleaders, saying that he was with him during the founding congress of the National Front on the night of the attack, thus providing him with a crucial alibi. In the end, all conspirators were found guilty but given suspended sentences, despite the huge amount of evidence uncovered by the authorities against them.

The closeness between Le Pen and Voridis was highlighted when the latter invited the former to be his guest of honor at his wedding. Finally, in 1997, Le Pen acknowledged the existence of Voridis’ party as a “sister party” to the French National Front, thus giving Voridis a much-needed boost in the field of the extreme right in Greece. Voridis would openly espouse anti-semitic rhetoric, and he would constantly attack Albanian migrants, many of whom fled Albania after the collapse of the socialist regime in 1991 and established themselves in Greece. Voridis also founded the newspaper “Greek Lines,” in whose articles he and other contributors would express their admiration for another dictator, Ioannis Metaxas (1936-1941), who ruled Greece with an iron fist up until the outbreak of World War 2. They would also espouse openly anti-semitic views.

In 2005, the Greek National Front formed an Alliance with the Popular Orthodox Rally Party (abbreviated as LAOS, meaning people in Greek), the far-right antisemitic and anti-immigration party headed by former New Democracy deputy Georgios Karantzaferis. The alliance between the two parties and the creation of a “Front of National Opposition” proved to be successful with the electorate, as the larger LAOS party would steadily gain momentum in national elections, winning 5,63% of the vote in 2009. Voridis was elected as a LAOS deputy and, from his new position, would now expose his ideas to the public from an institutional role as an elected representative. He also became one of the most trusted allies of Karantzaferis, working closely with him and helping the party gain fame and attract many conservative voters.

Entering into mainstream politics and exercising policy

In  November 2011, Voridis was appointed Minister for Transport and Infrastructure in the national unity government of Lukas Papademos, becoming the first politician with such a controversial profile to occupy a government post. His appointment happened in the middle of a political turmoil, as Greece was entering its third recession year and the second since the first IMF memorandum was signed in 2010. In February 2012, he left LAOS and joined New Democracy, voting for the second group of painful financial measures proposed by the IMF and denouncing his former mentor. Thus, he concluded his political trajectory to the upper echelons of power, normalizing his discourse and becoming a more mainstream politician. Still, due to the reactions of the Jewish community of Greece he had to offer an awkward apology, without fully renouncing his past beliefs.

In government, Voridis has not been shy about how he feels regarding immigrants and refugees, calling them “illegal migrants,” and has announced his intention to prolong the administrative detention in so-called “reception centers” up to two years. In this way, he hopes to frustrate the hopes of people on the move from coming to Greece, making their living conditions “unlivable.” He has also defended the Greek coast guard against criticism of proven pushbacks by remarking that the coast guard is “defending the borders of Europe.” At the same time, he said that the Greek government will not “look favorably” upon any attempts made by the new conservative German government to relocate asylum seekers to Greece, insisting instead on a relocation and redistribution mechanism that needs to be established all across the EU.

This stance could spark a confrontation with the newly elected German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who was voted into power promising to take a tougher stance on the immigration issue. At present, the German federal government is looking to proceed with the plan to send rejected asylum seekers to Greece anyway, especially after the major decision taken recently by the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig. On April 16, 2025, the court ruled that “non-vulnerable” migrants would not be subjected to degrading human living conditions if returned to Greece. It could be seen as an irony of fate that Voridis is eager to push back against the forced returns of migrants and refugees – if only because he now finds himself in an official capacity as a member of the government, and not because of his humanitarian convictions.

Moreover, according to the latest reports, the Greek government is planning to open a new detention center near Heraklion, Crete, where newly arrived migrants and refugees will be held in custody and registered. This measure has nothing to do with the welfare of the refugees, but as Mr. Voridis himself affirms, it will instead ensure that “there will be no problems with the operation of the port [of Heraklion] as well as with the arrivals of tourists.” 

What lies ahead

In conclusion, Voridis’ political background and arc can be firmly characterized by his far-right opinions and actions, which have spanned more than four decades. Even though he has toned down his rhetoric and taken up senior positions in government in recent years, his long-held beliefs have not fundamentally changed, and his stance is not on the side of refugees. On the contrary, his appointment may lead to even more restrictive migration policies, harsher treatment of people on the move at Europe’s borders, a disregard for NGOs and other humanitarian organizations and a worsening of the already extremely poor conditions in which thousands of adults and minors find themselves in at “reception centers” throughout the country. In any case, his ministry marks another phase in the migration policy of Greece and the EU, and it is more important than ever that human rights organizations and NGOs continue to monitor and vigorously report on the status of refugees and migrants.