The bill of the Ministry of National Defense for the supply of additional 3 frigates Belhara, 6 Rafale and 44 torpedoes for submarines was approved by the Parliament with a large majority.
ND, the Movement for Change and the Hellenic Solution supported the principle of the bill.
SYRIZA declared “present” at the beginning of the bill, voted against the provisions for the 6 Rafale and voted in favor of the supply of Belhara frigates and submarines.
The KKE and MERA25 voted against the bill.
SYRIZA’s choice to declare “present” for Rafale and to vote for Belhara, had the effect of raising the tone, with Kyriakos Mitsotakis talking about a “parliamentary mixer” and “absent from the national front.”
“And I ask you if this is a responsible attitude of the official opposition today. There are no oscillations in such choices, Mr. Tsipras. “Even the ‘present’ means absent from the national front,” he stressed.
Alexis Tsipras replied that SYRIZA does not give a blank check and accused Kyriakos Mitsotakis of not pursuing a prudent armaments policy but of reckless waste.
“Own the purchase of equipment made with the money of the Greek people and make a party spot that is presented instead of the coat of arms, your party emblem on the wings of the aircraft that the Greek taxpayer pays with his efforts,” said the leader of the official opposition.
The Prime Minister came back and listed agreements that did not support SYRIZA, in order to characterize it as a “national contradiction”
“You did not agree on the maritime agreement with Egypt, you voted against a strategic agreement with France, you voted against defense spending in the budget, breaking every parliamentary tradition. “Your vote is being recorded today as a resounding present and I understand you will vote against Defense Cooperation with the United States and then do not be surprised because we call you a national dissent at a critical juncture for the country,” said the Prime Minister.
Alexis Tsipras stressed that SYRIZA will not support anything for which there are signs of opacity and that this attitude of the official opposition is honest and a position of principles.
“Whatever we consider thorny, problematic, where there are indications of opacity, of scandalous overpricing on issues that we have managed and we know details and we managed them to have a cost A and you bring it 3 A, we will not vote for them. “This is our position and it is an honest one, a position of principles”, said the president of SYRIZA.
There was also controversy over the Belhara purchase, with the Prime Minister noting that no preparation and no substantial negotiations had taken place by the SYRIZA government for the purchase of frigates and Alexis Tsipras replying that the costs for their supply would not be recorded for the 2022.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Alexis Tsipras had a fierce conflict over the defense cooperation agreement with the United States, and in particular the Alexandroupolis base.
“If Mr. Tsipras, the Greek people trust you, come to things, will you terminate the agreement? “because there is more populism,” said the prime minister, with Alexis Tsipras answering “you become the first prime minister of the post-colonial era to grant Greek facilities to the American armed forces indefinitely”.
The reason for the tension was the report of George Tsipras who said in his speech that the defense of the country is not an end in itself. In his speech, the Prime Minister stated that for the ND faction, the country’s defense is a supreme goal, while Alexis Tsipras stated that a phrase was cut “while there is no disagreement that the country’s defense can not stand on its own if it does not serve security policy structured “.
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