04 November was the 3rd day of the confidence
vote process and was marked by a coordinated change of attitude by PASOK
members of parliament, who yesterday appeared to withhold their support for the
government. The vague plans for forming a “national unity” government in order to
complete the process for the next loan agreement reassured those MPs who had
found themselves opposing the prime minister.
Until the opening of the session of parliament
in the afternoon, one PASOK MP after the other expressed support for the idea of a
transitional government. Public statements by Christofilopoulou, Gerekou,
Voudouris, Papagerogiou expressed the hope that by Monday the Prime Minister
will have launched the procedure to form such a government.
Only two MPs held a different stance
regarding support for the current government. Minister of Health Andreas
Loverdos warned in a public letter that he would resign unless immediate action
was taken to establish a “national unity” government. Mr. Androulakis, on the
other hand, stated that he will abstain from voting, calling the steps taken by
the leaders of PASOK and Nea Dimokratia «pathetic bluff» and the
whole process «a parody».
Independent MP Elsa Papadimitriou also
indicated that she would abstain, although she’d said on 03 November that she’d vote in
favour of the confidence motion.
At the opening of the session of
parliament in the afternoon, most PASOK MPs stated their support for the plan
to form a government of national unity, although opinions differed with regards
to practicalities. Ch. Protopappas said he believes that such a government
should complete the activation of the loan agreement over several months. Mrs.
Panaritis suggested such a government shouldn’t even be transitional, but
govern for the two years left until the next general election.
Former PASOK minister Louka Katseli, who
was barred from PASOK for voting down an article of the latest austerity bill,
stated inside parliament that she would wait to listen to the prime minister
and would then make up her mind. Mrs Kaili, who had threatened yesterday to
resign if the referendum project wasn’t shelved, expressed the same opinion as
Mrs. Katseli.
Multiple, constantly changing scenarios were
put forward with regards to the national unity government before the Prime
Minister’s speech. It was unclear whether the Prime Minister would keep his
position in the new government, or if he would transfer power to his deputy
Evangelos Venizelos in a strictly caretaking capacity. At the same time, suggestions
for a government of unelected technocrats or consensual personalities were
flying around. There have been discussions with Nea Dimokratia as well as the
leader of far-right LAOS, G. Karatzaferis.
It must be noted that 04 November saw a
worsening of the situation in Italy, which has been put under IMF supervision. Also
noteworthy were the statements of the president of the European Commission, J.
Barroso, who expressed certainty that Greece would form a national unity
government, emphasising that «this is a one-way road, since the other
path is default.»
Papandreou won the confidence vote and… starts
the process to hand over power
The final result of the confidence vote in
parliament was 153 voting yes and 145 voting no, with two MPs absent
from proceedings. The 153 votes in favour of the motion came exclusively from
MPs of the governing party PASOK, while all opposition parties voted no,
without excluding however the possibility of participating in a national unity
government.
However, the government is
expected to change next week, according to the Prime Minister’s and Deputy PM’s
statements in parliament. Mr. Papandreou will ask the President of the
Republic to start negotiations with political leaders in order to form a
government « with a broad base of support » whose target would be the
completion of all necessary procedures to secure the 6th loan
tranche and ratify the new loan agreement before calling for a general
election.
Key points of the voting process:
- Mr. Papandreou gave a full review of his contribution to political life and stated that he will form a government « with a broad base of support » (instead of a « national unity » government)
- The new government will result from discussions among political party leaders under the auspices of the President of the Republic, and will aim at completing procedures to activate the new loan agreement, as well as some issues of national interest.
- The PM did not clarify which individual would lead the new government. He did not express any support however for the option of unelected personalities.
- In February, according to the deputy PM, or at latest in March, Greece will be holding a general election.
- Opposition leader Samaras stated Nea Dimokratia will not participate in the new government and demanded elections, because « his proposals were rejected ».
- Aleka Papariga (leader of communist party KKE) and Alexis Tsipras (leader of left-wing party Syriza) also insisted in demanding elections and defined the coalition government formation process as a “back door deal” between political parties to implement more austerity measures without democratic legitimacy.
- G. Karatzaferis (leader of far-right LAOS) and Dora Bakoyianni (leader of conservative Dimikratiki Symmachia) will participate in negotiations and possibly in the news government.
- F. Kouvelis (leader of left-wing Dimokratiki Aristera) will participate in negotiations but not in the new government.
- It must be noted that those PASOK MPs who had expressed doubts about supporting the government unless specific moves towards a national unity government tool place (Loverdos, Androulakis, Kaili, Panaritis) finally voted yes.
- Louka Katseli, who had been barred from PASOK, also voted yes, and was reintegrated in the party’s parliamentary group as a result of her vote.
Text by Galaxyarchis, translation by IrateGreek
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