Marios Salmas has been expelled from New Democracy after being ousted from the party’s parliamentary group earlier today.

“By decision of Maria Syreggela, the Secretary of the New Democracy Political Committee, Mr. Marios Salmas is expelled from the party,” announced ND headquarters in Piraeus.

The announcement regarding Salmas’ expulsion from ND’s Parliamentary Group stated:

Salmas’ removal from ND’s Parliamentary Group was unanimously confirmed by the party’s Ethics Committee, following his referral by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The expulsion letter was announced in the plenary session, leaving ND with 156 MPs.

The now-independent MP remained in the session for about a minute. Upon leaving, he spoke to journalists in Parliament, saying: “If Mr. Mitsotakis expels me because I spoke about properties lost due to bad loans, or because I opposed the Woke agenda for same-sex couples, or because I disagreed with how decisions were made by the government without consulting MPs, or because I asked him to check the cartels regarding inflation, then I take it as an honor. If he expels me to send a message to others, it’s unacceptable. However, if my expulsion is based on my highlighting a scandalous competition for the Tourism Ministry, where a contract was awarded without competition at a minimal price, I must remind and declare that MPs’ right to hold ministers accountable, along with their freedom of speech, is constitutionally protected and cannot be grounds for expulsion.”

Salmas attended the Ethics Committee meeting discussing his expulsion.

When asked if he plans to resign his seat, he responded, “Do you think I should stop fighting for the many?”

Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis commented on Salmas’ expulsion during a press briefing, referring to the Ethics Committee’s unanimous decision.

Marinakis further stated that Salmas is “trying to present himself as a hero of the bad loan issue.”

He added, “The notion that Mr. Salmas was expelled for a question he asked with his colleagues is something that the facts themselves refute.”

Regarding the reasons behind Salmas’ expulsion, Marinakis clarified, “He was expelled because, unlike other MPs, he continued to propagate slanderous statements despite what was required of him by the parliamentary group.”

“There is no other ND MP spreading slander on TV channels, nor insisting on false claims after receiving answers in Parliament,” Marinakis said, describing Salmas’ conduct as individual behavior, not reflective of other ND MPs.

The committee gave Salmas two articles from the party’s charter, asking him to explain his “uncollegial behavior.” The committee included chairman Yannis Tragakis, ND Parliamentary Group Secretary Stavros Kalafatis, Parliament Vice-President Athanasios Bouras, and MPs Athanasios Davakis and Theodoros Karaoglou.

Stavros Kalafatis stated, “Mr. Salmas, through his behavior, placed himself outside of the Parliamentary Group.”