While Parliament gets ready to give the new government a vote of confidence on Wednesday, politics are hard at work. George Papandreou called the Ministers participating in the new government to a meeting, something that seemed strange to media and politicians alike. He also said that he was considering seeking a change in the electoral law. This proposal was greeted with great skepticism from members of his old cabinet. It is not part of the mandate of this new government.
Meanwhile, while Antonis Samaras, insists that he will not sign a letter of commitment to implement the agreements for the bail-out, EU partners continue to insist that they want some sort of written commitment from political leaders given that the country is going to early elections.
New Democracy is facing other internal issues as well. One member of parliament (Sotiris Hatzigakis) was ousted from party, criticing those who were critical of the formation of new government.
Another member of parliament (Panos Kammenos) has clearly stated that he won’t vote for the new government and faces being ousted as well.
The parliament is full of members of parliament who have left or have been ousted from their parties because of disagreements. It appears that the crisis has given Parliamentarians a new more independent voice. How they will use it in the next few months and during elections remains to be seen.
Hopefully things will settle down enough to get the job done.
Sophia Kalantzakos 