Under the GDPR, does processing personal data “in the public interest” include “function creep”?

What finer way to send blog readers on their happy way to the end of year’s festivities but to pose two questions for post-Xmas dinner debate. The first question is: “Does ‘processing personal data in the public interest’ include that ‘processing in the interest of the Government of the day ’?”. The reason for asking this question is that the GDPR is stuffed with Articles and Recitals that refer to “the public interest”, “important reasons of public interest” or “substantial public interest”?

Source: Under the GDPR, does processing personal data “in the public interest” include “function creep”?