Electoral law is due for change
The leaders of Greece’s two main political parties, ruling New Democracy and opposition PASOK, agree on the need to change the country’s election system, bringing it closer to the German model, where the mixed member proportional representation system aims to ensure that the overall total of party members in Parliament reflects the overall proportion of votes received by those parties. Costas Karamanlis, the conservative prime minister, has expressed his support for a change to Greece’s electoral system in an interview with Sunday’s Kathimerini. His Socialist rival, George Papandreou, has in the past also expressed similar views on changing the way that votes translate into seats in Parliament. This apparent consensus between the two parties on such a key political matter could help improve the quality of the country’s politicians and reduce their dependence on the media. However, this consensus must translate into action, albeit within the framework foreseen by the nation’s constitution, as soon as possible after the next general election.
