A “difficult” vote awaits Parliament tomorrow for the Parliamentary Group of New Democracy, as for the first time the lifting of immunity is requested simultaneously for such a large number of its MPs -13 in total-, while several MPs are leaving open the possibility of voting against it. “In such votes, party discipline is not usually enforced. Nor will it be enforced in this vote, to be clear,” government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis clarified on Monday, while ND Parliamentary Group members publicly expressed their disagreement. This comes despite the fact that all those involved in the second and third case files of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office regarding OPEKEPE have themselves requested the lifting of their immunity from Parliament’s Plenary Session, which convenes tomorrow, Wednesday, for this purpose.
“Everyone will weigh their stance,” noted Justice Minister Georgios Floridis (Parapolitika 90.1), who also mentioned that potential opposition votes from some government majority MPs would not create a political problem. However, Mr. Marinakis emphasized during Monday’s briefing to political editors that if an MP votes selectively on immunity lifts, this would create a problem, as it appears they are distinguishing between innocent and guilty parties. An experienced government official told parapolitika.gr that in any case, voting against is a preferable stance to abstention, since even if a small group of MPs chooses the latter path, it would open another discussion within the ruling party.
Among the ND MPs who positioned themselves in the last 24 hours through their statements, Makis Voridis declared (on Open) that based purely on legal criteria, he would not vote in favor of lifting MPs’ immunity, clarifying that he has not made a final decision, as the discussion has acquired an intense political dimension, as he said. Adonis Georgiadis responded to a related question on ERTnews saying he faces a “serious moral dilemma.” The way the European Public Prosecutor’s Office case files arrived creates a hostage situation not only for ND, but for the entire political system, declared Stratos Simopoulos speaking on Parapolitika 90.1. “I am very troubled, I’m waiting to hear my colleagues,” he said regarding the immunity lift for the “13.”
On the same radio station Giorgos Vlahos also spoke, maintaining a reserved stance as well, emphasizing that he is waiting to hear “how colleagues will position themselves, what they will request themselves, how they will argue regarding the case file that concerns them, and then make the final decision, so that it is as correct as possible”. With his Facebook post on Sunday, Kyriakos Mitsotakis sent a clear message for voting in favor of the immunity lift requests, presenting three reasons: The first was legal, that it is the fastest way for them to prove their innocence. The second was parliamentary, that in such votes it is the MP’s duty not to become either an investigator or a judge. And the third, political: “We must not leave room for arguments about any shadow in our stance.”
It is clear, meanwhile, that the Prime Minister wants to quickly leave behind the political fallout from the OPEKEPE case and turn the agenda toward the future and government planning. On Monday, from New Democracy’s pre-conference in Heraklion, he particularly emphasized the government’s cooperation with Municipalities and the Region of Crete on critical issues such as water shortage, stressing that this “constitutes a very significant political differentiation today between a government which may have its problems, may have made mistakes, but ultimately has its gaze turned to the future and its attention focused on results -and the result, ultimately, will be judged by all of you citizens, whether it is good or not-, and an opposition which, as Kostis (Hatzidakis) said, essentially insists only on nullifying or excommunicating, knowing what it doesn’t want, but unable to say with any precision what it is that it wants.” He concluded his remarks with a reference to the regular conference in May, which -as he emphasized- “will be a pivotal milestone for the next national elections and for the Greece of 2030, as we envision it and as we will implement it together.”
