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[kurupetos]

Goodbye Antonaki...

[kurupetos]

Aide to Greece's PM resigns over Samaras accusations

A top aide to Greek PM Antonis Samaras has resigned over a videotape in which he appears to accuse his boss of influencing a criminal investigation.

In the video, Panayiotis Baltakos is seen speaking to a spokesman for the far-right Golden Dawn party about the arrest of its leaders in September.

Golden Dawn accuses the conservative-led coalition government of persecuting it for political reasons.

A government minister rejected the accusation as a fantasy.

The latest developments are at the very least an embarrassment for the government but will also be seen as further evidence that Greece's judiciary is not independent and that the case against Golden Dawn is on shaky ground, the BBC's Mark Lowen reports from Athens.

Since coming to power at the head of a broad coalition government in June 2012, Mr Samaras has been credited with putting the debt-ridden eurozone country on the track to economic recovery.

It is now forecast to exit six years of recession this year, its deficit has been wiped out - save for interest on the bailout - and Athens is preparing a return to the markets for the first time since 2010.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26857479