- 1,949 political appointees in March 2014 under the ND–PASOK–DIMAR coalition; 2,739 in April 2019 under SYRIZA; 3,644 in November 2025.
- The average number of appointees in 2019 stood at 2,350, while in 2025 it reached 3,600.
- See in detail, by month and by year, the evolution of this ‘army’ of insiders.
- What Kyriakos Mitsotakis was saying about political appointees in 2017 and 2018.
by Vangelis Triantis
According to official data from the Greek Public Sector Human Resources Management System, the New Democracy government, under Kyriakos Mitsotakis, once again emerges as the ‘champion’ in the number of political appointees. Data Journalists conducted a detailed analysis of official figures on political appointees over the seven-year period from 2019 to 2025. The findings are striking. The number of political appointees has increased by almost 50% since 2019. Specifically, the average number of appointees was 2,350 in 2019, rising to 3,600 in 2025.
Indeed, from 2019 to the present, the average number of political appointees has been steadily increasing each year, at rates ranging from as low as 3% (the smallest increase) to as high as 19% on average. If one compares these figures with the numbers of political appointees under the SYRIZA–ANEL government during the period 2015–2019 and the ND–PASOK–DIMAR coalition during 2012–2014, the differences are stark.
Notably, the highest number of political appointees recorded during the SYRIZA government was 2,739 in April 2019, compared to 1,949 under the ND–PASOK–DIMAR coalition in March 2014. In contrast, the highest number of political appointees under the Mitsotakis government was 3,644 in November 2025.
This is in stark contrast to what Kyriakos Mitsotakis said before 2019. At that time, he fiercely criticised the SYRIZA–ANEL government for the number of political appointees, promising a small, flexible state. These promises were not kept, as evidenced by official statistical data.
Increases of up to 19% each year during the Mitsotakis seven-year term
A close examination of the monthly number of political appointees from 2019 to 2025 reveals that their numbers have grown almost exponentially each year. In 2019, the average number of appointees was 2,350. The following year, this figure increased by 19%, reaching an average of 2,800. In 2021, the average increased by 18% compared to 2020, reaching 3,330. In 2022, the number of appointees increased by an average of 3%, reaching 3,400. 2023 was a parliamentary election year — in fact, a double election year. For the first time since Kyriakos Mitsotakis took office, the number of political appointees decreased by 12% compared to 2022, with an average of 3,000 appointees. While this was a reduction compared to 2022, it still far exceeded the 2019 average. In 2024, the number of appointees surged again, with an average increase of 10% compared to 2023 and reaching an average of 3,300. In 2025, the number increased further still, rising by almost 9% on average compared to 2024, with an average of 3,600 appointees.\
What Kyriakos Mitsotakis was saying in 2017 and 2018
The sharp increase in political appointees contrasts sharply with his previous statements when New Democracy was in the position of the official opposition. To substantiate this, we cite some of Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s public statements. In January 2017, for example, the current prime minister was fiercely criticising the then government over the number of political appointees in an interview with journalist Antonis Sroiter.
Yes, the number of political appointees should be reduced, but other measures are also needed. They should not be paid according to the current pay scales. Do you know what would happen? It is not fair for a political appointee to earn the same as a civil servant with 20 years’ experience. When I was at the Ministry of Administrative Reform, I worked with capable civil servants who received no additional compensation. I would like to acknowledge their honourable service to the country in the negotiations we conducted with the troika,” stated Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
A few months later, in May 2017, Mitsotakis said:
“In any case, for SYRIZA–ANEL, power is an end in itself and a motive for placing their own people at every level. In the public sector, we are already seeing new waves of contract workers, whom they are trying to deceive by promising permanent positions. And there are far too many political appointees being paid out of the hard-earned money of Greek taxpayers.”
In May 2018, Kyriakos Mitsotakis also struck a similar tone when speaking at a D.A.K.E. event on the public sector.
“SYRIZA’s party-state will be dismantled, along with the entire new structure of dozens of special secretaries whom they appointed in a completely non-meritocratic way to take over the state, along with thousands of political appointees.” My ministers will not hire people without a professional background just to give friends or relatives jobs in the public sector,” he stressed.
Ultimately, however, these promises proved to be empty, with the number of political appointees breaking every record from 2019 to 2025 and Greek taxpayers bearing the cost.
