Former mayor back in ND fold, bringing coalition’s parliamentary majority to 155

The Greek coalition government, which faces a crucial confidence vote on Friday, saw its parliamentary majority rise to 155 MPs in the 300-seat House after senior partner New Democracy accepted a request by former Athens Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis to be let back into the conservative party fold.

Kaklamanis had been struck from the party’s parliamentary group in March after failing to back a liberalization bill. He fell out of the party’s favor again prior to May’s local elections when he decided to run for the Municipality of Athens against New Democracy’s candidate Aris Spiliotopoulos.

His return to the party comes after a written request to ND chief and Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.

ND now holds 127 seats in the House and coalition partner PASOK has another 28, giving the government more than the 151 seats it needs for a majority.

Kaklamanis represents Athens’s First Constituency.