Party discipline imposed on migrants vote

Reaffirming its determination to push through a controversial migration amendment, which has been opposed by former conservative premier Antonis Samaras, the government announced on Monday that it will impose party discipline during a Parliament vote on Tuesday.

Specifically, government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said that “the only member of the New Democracy party who is a former prime minister is Mr Samaras, from there onward, for all the others, party discipline is self-evident.”

The amendment foresees granting a three-year stay and work permit to migrants who have entered Greece irregularly and reside in the country.

As much as the MPs who oppose the amendment say they were “surprised” by the fact that the amendment came suddenly, the government was equally caught off guard on Friday night when Samaras issued an unprecedentedly strong announcement calling for its withdrawal.

The biggest surprise, however, came on Saturday when the former prime minister came back through his associates directly showing up the government, citing past statements by Marinakis saying there would be no change in migration policy. 

The government’s response showed a clear escalation as it was curt and only 30 words long: “The regulation has been sufficiently analyzed. The difference between a one-off specific number of work permits subject to revocation and Hellenizations is so obvious that further analysis is unnecessary,” it said in a short and terse statement seeking to close the issue.

Shades of the controversy also appeared during the debate in Parliament on the budget, even if only indirectly as Mitsotakis chose not to make any reference to Samaras. His speech was greeted with a standing ovation by all 156 New Democracy MPs. The same number is expected to vote in favor of the amendment on Tuesday despite the disagreements, as no one from the parliamentary group will cross the Rubicon and vote against. What is expected, however, are several “dissenting” MPs taking the floor and voicing their objections.

The question that arises is what Samaras, who served as 14th prime minister of Greece from 2012 to 2015, is seeking with his triple divergence last month on specific government policies: the Greek-Turkish issue, same-sex marriage and, most recently, the amendment on migration.

The view that the government’s policies are causing “rifts” on the right within New Democracy is not shared by the Maximos Mansion, positing instead “the Evros fence, the tough immigration policy, and the strengthening of the Armed Forces,” as credentials of its “practical response to those who have such doubts.”