Few figures in Greece have caused more sleepless nights among the country’s powerful than Popi Papandreou. As the most prominent prosecutor in the Athens office of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, she has been the driving force behind the agricultural fraud probe that shook the country’s establishment and triggered high-profile resignations of leading politicians. In police wiretaps, alleged ringleaders were overheard discussing how to thwart her investigation — a sign of how disruptive her work has become.
Papandreou isn’t finished. Last year, she referred a case file to the Greek parliament, asking lawmakers to examine the potential criminal liability of two former transport ministers over a train crash that killed 57 people, most of them students. The ruling New Democracy party has blocked her requests.
Colleagues describe Papandreou as a workaholic who keeps her distance to avoid pressure and entanglements. The politically sensitive cases currently on her desk underscore how much unresolved rot lingers in Greece even after three bailouts and years of promised reforms. Her investigations pose an uncomfortable reminder that questions of accountability and rule of law remain very much alive in the country.
Check out the full 10 to Watch list, the POLITICO 28: Class of 2026, and read the Letter from the Editors for an explanation of the thinking behind the ranking.