Bracing for a week of political clashes
Political discourse is set to get nastier this week after the opposition announced plans to submit a motion of no confidence against the government. The move comes as polls show mounting distrust in the country’s institutions, with almost nine in 10 respondents saying there is an attempt to cover up the responsibilities of politicians in the 2023 Tempe rail tragedy.
The other significant development expected this week is the announcement of a new minimum wage on Wednesday.
Censure motion
Five opposition parties have demanded a no-confidence vote against the government, a challenge ruling New Democracy has accepted. The motion will be submitted on Tuesday by socialist PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis and will be backed by left-wing SYRIZA and New Left, Communist KKE and nationalist Greek Solution.
The move came after a report in To Vima newspaper on Sunday claimed that conversations between the Larissa station master – the one closest to the site of the Tempe train crash – the trains’ drivers and other persons had been stitched together and offered to pro-government media to give the impression the deadly accident was due exclusively to human error.
The debate on the censure motion will begin two days after its submission unless the government requests that it commence immediately; it cannot be extended beyond three days from its start.
The vote on the motion of no confidence is customarily held immediately after the debate ends, but it can be postponed for 48 hours at the government’s request.
Even if all the opposition parties join forces, the government, which holds a comfortable majority of 158 MPs in the 300-seat Parliament, is expected to survive the motion.
But the political rift over the deadly train collision is expected to deepen, with opposition parties, but also Greek public opinion accusing the government of efforts to cover up any possible political responsibilities in the incident, which claimed the lives of 57 people, most of them university students.
The most contentious issue is the immunity from prosecution provided to former and incumbent ministers by the Greek constitution. A lawsuit has already been filed against New Democracy MP and ex-transport minister Kostas Karamanlis, while a group of crash victims’ parents have filed a request to lift the immunity of Karamanlis and former SYRIZA transport minister Christos Spirtzis. The ex-SYRIZA minister sent a letter to the House speaker last week demanding that his own immunity be lifted.
The pressure on the government has increased even more after some of its own ministers and MPs criticized Karamanlis’ stance in recent days.
Minimum wage
The government is set to announce an increase to the country’s minimum wage on Wednesday, according to Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis and Labor Minister Domna Michailidou.
It is expected to be 830 euros gross, 705 euros net. It is estimated that some 600,000 employees are receiving the minimum wage.
The platform for submitting tax declarations will also open this week. Taxpayers who pay the tax in one lump sum will get a 3% discount.
Strikes
Several strikes are planned this week, including a work stoppage by the union representing staff at public hospitals on Wednesday and a strike by staff of private healthcare providers on Thursday.
Several unions have also said they will join the protest of mining and metals company LARCO workers in central Athens on Thursday.
