By Antonis Anzoletou

The university space looks like a “boiling cauldron” against the background of the bill for non-state higher institutions. Every day there are many conflicts at the political level. For occupations from the student associations, their legitimacy, the situation that prevails inside the institutions that remain closed, the entry of the police, the attitude of the chancellors and of course for the examination period. The students they complete five weeks of mobilizations and the situation seems to be deadlocked.

From the New Democracy they considered that society is now mature to accept changes in the existing situation in higher education and to prepare the ground for the revision of article 16. The criticism that is made for the management that has been done is that at this time the Maximos has opened three fronts simultaneously. The same-sex couples, agriculture and universities. Things would have been clearly easier if Kyriakos Mitsotakis had “cleared” the field in relation to higher institutions earlier. Not that he would avoid the mobilizations. The operation of non-public universities in Greece is an identity issue and the left would surely react. The exam simply pushes things a lot more, as several assemblies have already decided – despite the decisions of the administrations – not to take place via remote control. In any case, there are also many delicate constitutional issues that require thorough research and study until the new regulation reaches its final form. This justifies any delay. The information states that the great majority of the articles of the bill will concern the operation of public universities.

This specific initiative, however, is expected to help rally it New Republic. On February 15, the bill for same-sex couples will be voted on where the majority is not excluded to record 30-40 “no” votes along with “abstentions”. In the non-establishment of state universities, Maximou aims for the absolute “158” and this will be the answer to those who will argue that there is a “rift” in the ranks of the majority. Possibly the bill will be tabled next week in Parliament. The battle between the government and the opposition will be interesting, but the spotlight will also be on SYRIZA and PASOK. In Koumoundourou, there do not seem to be any second thoughts about voting against the bill, despite the minimal “disagreements” from statements that have been made. Margins, after all, do not exist, as KKE, New Left, Pleussi Eleftherias and MeRA25 will put extreme pressure on the official opposition if it goes against the student movement and the professors who have opposed the changes from the very beginning.

In Harilaou Trikoupi there are many conditions that they put in order to say “yes”. THE Nikos Androulakis has stated that “if a non-profit university is established on the model of European and American universities with campuses, with research, we will not get in the way because we want to be a modern country. But the priority for us is the strengthening of the public university, which concerns millions of Greeks and not just the few. If, now, the New Democracy brings something, which undermines the public and trades degrees through a private and speculative market without criteria, then we will be negative.” What is estimated is that it will take enough thought for PASOK to agree to such a venture, leaving enough room for SYRIZA to move freely in the wider left arc. The two contenders for second place for the European elections are now playing a “hard poker” with their eyes on the entire progressive front.