By Yannis Anifantis

2024 is coming to an end for the Greek parliament with bills that have upended party affiliations, the removal of SYRIZA from the podium of the official opposition and episodes that have stigmatized parliamentary morals, making it a disruptive year for the Greek parties.

1. Same-Sex Marriage – Postal Vote – Branches of foreign universities

Three key bills in the first three months of the outgoing parliamentary year have brought fresh party challenges to the surface as the government’s bid to introduce postal voting and national elections “falls flat”, after the broad consensus reached between of the governing majority and opposition parties on the bill for postal voting in the European elections. On February 15, the civil marriage of same-sex couples becomes the law of the state with a large majority, supported by 5 parties (ND, SYRIZA, PASOK, NEW LEFT, PLESI ELEFTHERIAS). 51 MPs from the ND, 11 from PASOK, 3 from SYRIZA and 2 from the New Left vote against or abstain from voting, causing tremors in the 4 parliamentary groups, while the blue dissidents will also be the pool that will challenge during the year government policy in areas such as accuracy and taxation. However, the discussion of the bill for the operation of branches of non-state universities in Greece was of particular interest, as apart from the clash between leaders Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Nikos Androulakis over PASOK’s “cloudy” attitude towards the legislation, the vote was also episodic, with Zoe Konstantopoulou to read all 205 articles of the bill at the end of the procedure, delaying by at least 2 hours at the end of the discussion.

2. “Ring” the Peristyle

A black page in the parliamentary events of the Transition was the unprecedented episode outside the plenary hall, with the independent MP K. Floros – who was elected with the Spartans in June 2023 – to punch the Hellenic Solution deputy B. Written, turning the space of the Greek parliament into an informal “ring”. The fuse, which led to the ignition in the corridors of the Parliament, was ignited during a debate in the Plenary on the proposal to lift the immunity of the President of the Hellenic Solution, Kyriakos Velopoulos, following a lawsuit against him, filed by the father of Konstantinos Floros, accusing him for defamation.

3. Barrage of independences & deletions – PASOK in position of official opposition

Undoubtedly, the year that is leaving is the most “productive” in terms of parliamentary movements, as a total of 22 MPs either became independent or were deleted from the parliamentary groups with which they were elected in 2023. The lion’s share is held by SYRIZA, which with the independence of 10 MPs after the decisive congress in November, it lost its institutional role official opposition, with PASOK taking over more than a decade later. Koumoundourou currently has only 26 MPs, when in the last national elections it had managed to elect 47. However, the governing majority also suffered losses with 3 MPs, including former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, being removed from the parliamentary group, and one of them (Lefteris Avgenakis) to return, shortly before the Parliament adjourns for the Christmas holidays. At the same time, the parliamentary group of the Spartans continues to dwindle, remaining with only 5 MPs, as through a tug-of-war of complaints about the interventions of the Greek Mafia and the role of the leader of the convicted Ilias Kasidiaris, an additional 6 MPs became independent, with the party also losing the rest of the government funding.

4. The “ephemeral” deletion of Polakis

In July, the verbal attack of Pavlos Polakis on an associate of A. Georgiadis during a meeting of the social affairs committee leads to his removal from the parliamentary group, by order of Stefanos Kasselakis, but not from Koumoundourou. However, his reinstatement in a period of less than a month and a half, on September 3, in the parliamentary group, was interpreted by many as an attempt to appease “Apsi Sfakianos”, who was already questioning the leadership of SYRIZA, which was officially done with the motion of censure against of Stefanos Kasselakis from the group of “87” in the episodic central committee of September 7th and 8th.

5. The examination for Tempi & the motion of no confidence

The headlines for the parliamentary inquiry into the causes of the Tempe train crash fall on March 20, with the ruling majority bringing the inquiry’s finding, which focused on possible human error, to the plenary. The opposition is rallying, PASOK – SYRIZA – New Left and Pleussi Eleftherias co-sign a motion of no confidence against the government, on the occasion of a front page story about editing the communications of the fateful night of the train accident. The proposal is rejected, with the 158 MPs of the governing majority and the independent MP Haris Katsivardas voting against it.

In 2025

The unprecedentedly divided parliamentary landscape, with 9 parties and 23 independent MPs, will be faced in the first days of the new year with a serious challenge: the election of a new President of the Republic by February 13. Skopelos is not easy, if you consider that the nomenclature has started since last autumn. To the particularities of the year should be added the possibility of the particular Parliament turning into a proposer and opening the debate on the constitutional revision which will determine the articles to be revised.