All candidates get contact lists, no questions asked

The storm raised by a conservative Eurodeputy’s emailing Greeks resident abroad, who will be able to vote by mail for the first time in June’s European Parliament elections, is a reminder that lists of names, with addresses, phone numbers and emails, are in the hands of every political candidate.

A lot of discussion was about whether obtaining the lists violates the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation.

One political consultant told Kathimerini that the first thing he asks his clients is whether they have contact lists. “We take them without asking too many questions about their provenance,” he says.

The many hundreds of thousands of citizens who have voted in party leadership elections have essentially conceded to the use of their personal data. Other names are obtained either by third persons, as a favor to the candidate, or on the black market.