Acknowledging both social readiness and cross-party consensus on lifting the job tenure of public sector employees, Kyriakos Mitsotakis reignited the debate yesterday. In his interview with SKAI Radio 100.3, he clearly announced that New Democracy will introduce the issue during the upcoming constitutional revision, aiming to amend Article 103, paragraph 4.
A key turning point in this discussion was a recent MARC poll for Proto Thema, which showed broad political consensus on the matter—even among left-wing voters, who traditionally oppose such reforms. The survey also revealed that nearly two-thirds of public sector employees themselves support the idea. With society showing maturity and the issue no longer being taboo, the government sees a prime opportunity to shift the public debate and set the agenda.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis had already pledged during his 2023 election campaign to reform the “deep state,” with public sector tenure being one of Greece’s last ‘sacred cows.’
This constitutional provision dates back to 1911, during the era of Eleftherios Venizelos. Notably, Klafthmonos Square (literally, “Square of Lament”) was named in 1878 after public servants protested there following mass dismissals by an incoming government.
“Under no circumstances can tenure serve as a force of inertia. Yet that’s exactly what it may be today,”
said Mitsotakis yesterday, noting that the government has already introduced measures like productivity bonuses for those in managerial roles and performance evaluations using AI systems.
Additionally, a new Disciplinary Framework for the public sector is set to be introduced by Interior Minister Theodoros Livanios. Still, the government believes that evaluations lose meaning unless dismissal is at least a theoretical option for employees who demonstrably underperform—especially given the current size of the public sector.
The 180 Votes and PASOK’s Role
The debate is expected to officially begin once the process to define which constitutional articles will be revised kicks off—likely at the end of 2025, with the full process unfolding in 2026. At some point, 180 votes will be required to declare an article revisable. If that threshold is reached, only 151 votes will be needed in the next Parliament to amend it. If not, a 3/5 supermajority will be required for the amendment vote.
PASOK avoided engaging meaningfully with the issue yesterday. Party leader Nikos Androulakis accused the Prime Minister of political “fireworks,” while PASOK spokesperson Kostas Tsoukalas recently stated that “tenure is not the problem of the public sector.”
It is worth noting, however, that the broader debate gained traction a few weeks ago after former PASOK minister Kostas Skandalidis raised the issue more explicitly.
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