A debate is currently underway in Parliament following a request by PASOK to set up a committee of inquiry into the wiretapping case.
A request for an absolute majority was put forward by the New Democracy Party to approve the Commission of Inquiry. That is, it should be passed by 151 MPs instead of 120. The debate started with tension from the beginning and sparked a new political clash between the government and the opposition after the rejection of the proposal for a preliminary inquiry into Livano and Arabatzi.
Makis Voridis, from the majority side, asked to speak at the beginning of the session to raise a side issue and argue that the procedure by which the debate on the investigative proposal is introduced and especially the low bar of 120 “in favour” for its approval violates the Constitution.
This sparked a reaction from PASOK’s Dimitris Mantzos, who cried that this was being raised out of the blue.
“The coup has begun,” Socrates Famellos also shouted.
“If today’s session had a title it would be that they are abusing democracy to maintain power,” Nikos Androulakis said, accusing the government of undermining democracy.
He spoke of a weak Prime Minister and added: “Mr Voridis, who owes a debt to Mr Mitsotakis, came to present arguments that have nothing to do with good reason.”
He attacked Nikitas Kaklamanis for his stance in 2022, which he said was different from the current one in a similar examination.
“Will you stand up today Mr. Kaklamanis contradicting yourself in 2022?” he questioned, adding: “The Nixon of Greece, Mr Mitsotakis, should have been here today.”
Specifically, the request is “for the examination of the specific issue of public interest of the illegal use of the illegal Predator software in the Greek territory (87 verified targets against natural persons), the alleged involvement of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) in cases of violation of the confidentiality of communications and illegal processing of personal data, the manipulation of the Commission of Inquiry set up in accordance with the decision of the Plenary of the Parliament of 29 August 2022 and the investigation into the existence of responsibilities of Prime Minister Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis and any other natural or legal person involved in accordance with Article 68(2)
The government of the New Democracy party is oriented towards requesting the activation of Article 144 of the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, in conjunction with Article 68 of the Constitution, which stipulate that requests for the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry on issues of national security (due to the involvement of the National Security Service) require an absolute majority of 151 MPs and not 120 votes. Something that will “block” the opposition parties, even if they all join PASOK’s demand to “impose” the new investigation, at the level of an Inquiry Committee, by the Parliament.
