By Antonis Anzoletou

The composition of the new Parliament is of particular interest, with the work in the Plenary, the parliamentary control and the Committees acquiring particular characteristics. It is the second time in the post-colonial period that eight parties get the ticket for the Plenary. It was in September 2015 when SYRIZA, ND, Golden Dawn, DIMAR, KKE, Potami, ANEL and the Union of Centers crossed the threshold of the Parliament and remained in their positions (with several independences and dissolutions K.O .) until July 2019.

Interest is focused on the entry of new parties. MeRA25 is absent compared to the previous composition, as the party of Yanis Varoufakis failed to pass the 3% threshold. Spartans (4.64% – 12 seats), NIKI (3.69% – 10 seats) and Freedom Sailing (3.17% – 8 seats) are the new “players”.

Essentially the new Parliament it has been divided into three. On the one hand is the governing parliamentary group of New Democracy with the power of 158 seats. Exactly those he had after the 2019 elections. The second group is in the centre-left space consisting of SYRIZA, PASOK, KKE and FREEDOM SAILING. The fact that SYRIZA has lost almost 50% of its strength compared to four years ago makes it a weak official opposition. Therefore the remaining three will “contest” in order to show the upgraded role they have. THE SYRIZA as an official opposition, it can no longer table a motion of no confidence against the government (the Rules of Parliament require 50 MPs), but neither can a motion for the establishment of an Inquiry Committee (requires the signatures of 60 MPs). The four of them do not even have the required majority of 120 MPs needed to set up an Inquiry Committee on the initiative of the minority. They number 108 deputies.

The national patriotic front consists of the third group consisting of the Spartans, the Hellenic Solution and NIKI. Together, the three gather 34 seats and a percentage of 12.77%. Their ideology does not have the same starting point and it is expected that there will be important disagreements between them. The Hellenic Solution has already differentiated its position with its announcement: “The Hellenic Solution has proven for 4 years that it is an institutionally democratic party. Therefore, we will not allow anyone to tarnish and slander our very existence. From now on , we inform them, that we will take legal action. We will not allow anyone to tarnish, tarnish our status. And one last thing. I did not know that the country, religion, family, bread – education – freedom, which we believe, is a far-right perception”.

The particularly worrying element is that the Spartans, with the support of Ilias Kasidiaris, managed to enter the Parliament within just three weeks of their proposal. After all, the reference to the convicted former MP of Golden Dawn on Sunday night was indicative. In May 2012, Golden Dawn took advantage of the economic crisis and immigration in the neighborhoods of Athens in order to succeed in entering the Parliament with an impressive 6.97% at the time, winning 21 seats. In January and September 2015, it managed to be the third consecutive party in the elections, again reaching 7%. Epimythium: the extreme right knows how to transform and re-emerge when the democratic system shows gaps and society is vulnerable. It is very possible that the choice of Kostas Tasoula to the position of president for another four years, as now experienced in the position of the country’s third state agent, was a result of the new composition of the Parliament. Everyone expects episodes that may resemble extreme interventions and disagreements of the 2012-2015 period.