NEWS

Most Greek MPs choose to have a taxpayer-funded car

Less than 50 of Parliament’s 300 deputies refused the privilege of a complimentary car that they are entitled to as elected MPs but which Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had exhorted them to reject during his presentation of the government’s policy program.

The MPs who turned down a free car include Eleni Psarea and Giorgos Damaras of SYRIZA, Giorgos Koumoutsakos of New Democracy and the leader of Potami, Stavros Theodorakis, as well as many of his MPs including Antigone Lyberaki, Giorgos Amyras and Stavroula Antonakou, Kathimerini understands.

The budget set aside for MPs’ complimentary cars this year is 3.2 million euros.

In previous years even fewer MPs – only around 30 or 35 – had refused state cars.

In a related development, former Prime Minister George Papandreou is said to have rejected a request by Parliament Speaker Zoe Constantopoulou for him to give up his office in Parliament, noting that parliamentary rules allow former premiers to keep their offices in the House.

Constantopoulou asked another two ex-PMs, Constantinos Mitsotakis and Costas Simitis, to relinquish their offices too.

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