No-confidence debate comes to a head

The three-day parliamentary debate on a no-confidence motion against the government will be concluded on Thursday night with a roll-call vote.

The motion was tabled by socialist PASOK and backed by SYRIZA, New Left, communist KKE and nationalist Greek Solution.

The result of the vote is a foregone conclusion given the majority enjoyed in Parliament by ruling New Democracy.

It will be preceded by the speeches of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the leaders of the opposition parties, which are expected to be particularly acrimonious given the first two days of the debate, marking the beginning of a long period of polarization until the European elections. Although the motion of no confidence concerned more than one issue, the speeches of most ministers, MPs and parliamentary representatives, as well as the interventions of some of the political leaders, focused on the fatal train crash in Tempe, central Greece in February 2023.

Little time was devoted to the other issues, especially the “rule of law” aspect raised by the opposition. The co-signatories of the motion accuse the government of attempting to cover up responsibilities for the train crash, while the government has insisted that the judiciary will have the final say. What was clear in Wednesday’s debate was the government’s intention to rectify any mistakes made, as the statements by the ministers of foreign affairs and labor, George Gerapetritis and Domna Michailidou, suggested.

“This government has the courage to check things, to do the necessary self-control, to look at the issues that arise with vigor, with courage and boldness, and, when necessary, with self-criticism,” Gerapetritis said.

For her part, Michalidiou stressed that the “government has been, is and will be open to both dialogue and criticism.”

For his part, the government’s former transport minister, Kostas Karamanlis, dismissed accusations that he is shirking responsibility.

“I have not hidden and I will not hide behind any form of immunity for lawmakers,” Karamanlis told Parliament on Wednesday.

He lashed out at the opposition parties, claiming that the tragedy “is becoming an object of political exploitation.”

Referring to the fact that the disaster occurred during his tenure as minister of transport and infrastructure, Karamanlis blamed the previous SYRIZA administration’s tardiness in implementing the remote signaling system on Greece’s railway.