Greece’s new Parliament plenum convenes on Feb. 5 with the customary oath of office, with Feb. 13 set for the final vote by the legislature’s 300 MPs to elect a new president of the republic.
Election of a new Parliament president is set for Feb. 6, with ruling SYRIZA having already nominated outspoken MP Zoe Kostantopoulou. Given the coalition government’s tally of MPs, the former is mostly assured of assuming the post.
The same plenary session will see ministers beginning to outline the new government’s closely watched policy statements from Parliament’s podium, with the first vote then taken for a new president — a wholly ceremonial role. The final vote comes on Feb. 13, a day after new PM Alexis Tsipras is due to attend his first EU leaders’ summit.
In a related matter, new FinMin Yanis Varoufakis briefed the Cabinet on Wednesday over Thursday’s visit to Athens by European Parliament President Martin Schulz visit, as well as the arrival, the next day on Friday, of Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem. All eyes will be on Friday’s meeting and Dijsselbloem’s contacts and statements.
