Greece struggles to shake up safety agency after huge fires

By DEREK GATOPOULOS
Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s center-right government replaced top public security officials following the country’s multiple devastating wildfires this month. But it suffered an embarrassing political setback Tuesday when the retired admiral appointed to oversee firefighting withdrew hours before he was due to be sworn in. The government had named Evangelos Apostolakis, a former chief of the Greek armed forces and the defense minister under a previous government, as the head of a newly created Civil Protection Ministry. He pulled out after the political opposition accused him of being disloyal. According to recent opinion polls, the wildfires in southern Greece and an August spike in COVID-19 cases have caused public discontent.