The Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) gave a lukewarm reception to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ proposal of Prokopis Pavlopoulos – a 65-year-old constitutional lawyer – for the honorary post of President of the Republic. The choice came as a surprise as his name had not been mentioned in discussions speculating the identity of SYRIZA’s candidate. Even Pavlopoulos himself seemed surprised, stating he had not expected the phone call at midday on Tuesday that was followed by the proposal. So great was his own surprise that he philosophised that life works in mysterious ways.

The former center-right conservative lawmaker was a minister under the conservative New Democracy between 2004 and 2009. Though he seems like an odd choice for the leftist government, the move makes sense considering SYRIZA’s coalition with the right-wing anti-austerity Independent Greeks (ANEL). ANEL leader Panos Kammenos stated that he would only vote for a candidate who was against the loan agreements. In the past Pavlopoulos had not only stated his opposition to loan agreements but had also declared the dismissals of public servants as unconstitutional, aligning his views with those of SYRIZA.

Noteworthy is the fact that the previous Greek government had failed to get its candidate Stavros Dimas elected, and with Pavlopoulos as candidate, Tsipras will have one less worry by (a) securing conservative votes; (b) showing his good will as an indication of his intention to work with all political factions; (c) causing some friction within the conservative ND.

Following his meeting with Tsipras, Pavlopoulos said that the presidency would give him the opportunity to “humbly contribute to the struggle for Greece and Europe”. In reference to Europe he said that the European Union envisioned by its founders needs to find its principles and values again, after losing them in recent years.

The ND party (76 lawymakers) declared its support for Pavlopoulos who is expected to be comfortably elected. SYRIZA-ANEL coalition hold 162 seats meaning that Pavlopoulos can gain as many as 238 seats, though 180 seats are enough for an election in the first round of voting.

Soon after the announcement of Pavlopoulos candidacy, centrist pro-European Potami proposed Nikos Alivizatos, a 66-year-old constitutional lawyer and professor, as a non-political candidate. Alivizatos will have the support of the 17-membered Potami group and may draw some votes from the socialist PASOK group.

Lukewarm party reception

Shortly afterwards, at the Parliamentary cafeteria there was all-round numbness. One government source said that it was the “prime minister’s choice and we will support it”, whereas at another table SYRIZA lawmaker Rachel Makri said that she disagreed with the choice. “I will not vote for it,” she said. Panagiotis Lafazanis said that he would have prefered a leftist candidate, but would not vote against his party’s choice.

Roll call vote on Wednesday

The roll call vote for the election of the new president will be held on Wednesday at 7.30 p.m. According to the Greek Constitution, the candidate must gained 3/5 of the total number of deputies to be elected as the new President of the Republic in the first vote. However, if unsuccessful, he will need 150+1 MPs in a second vote. The lower figure did not apply to late December 2014′s vote for a new president, given that the constitution envisions a simple majority in case snap elections are held because a president was not elected by the immediately preceding legislature.