Kyriakos Mitsotakis opened the discussion sending a message to his MPs to “sweat together the jersey,” saying “no to gloomy introversion and insecurities.”

The changes to the Constitution proposed by New Democracy were also presented.

“Outside the scope of Constitutional Revision is the reduction of MPs,” said the Prime Minister during the intervention of Euboea MP Thanasis Zempilis, in which, among other things, he said that he does not agree with the reduction of MPs.

Detailed statement by Voridis

The discussion on constitutional revision comes amid a deep questioning of the role of the MP. A questioning that arises from the transmission of 13 unfounded and unsubstantiated accusations, from the political positions of an activist prosecutor, Ms. Laura Kövesi.

The questioning of the parliamentary role does not come from the “operational state”. The operational state is an achievement that will remain after us. It is the regular meetings of the Council of Ministers, it is governmental planning, it is the coordination secretariat, the secretariat for legal and parliamentary affairs, the permanent secretaries, the executive officials, the annual recruitment planning—major and critical administrative achievements. These do not affect the role of MPs.

What affects the role of MPs is anyone who says that we should not speak with citizens, that we cannot convey citizens’ demands to the public administration, and that if we do so we risk becoming defendants.

It is correct that colleagues who are unjustly accused should be candidates. It is correct to revise Article 60 and to strengthen the role of the MP. And it is now necessary to put an end to the criminalization of political life—definitively and decisively.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis and New Democracy is a popular party. No one will alter its character. No one will prevent us from speaking with and listening to citizens, from our contact with society—and certainly not some prosecutors.

Notis Mitarakis

“MPs should be the base of the government,” he said, expressing a view different from Thanos Plevris.

George Vlahos

He criticized allocations from the Recovery Fund and recycling “vending machines,” and said regarding same-sex issues that “we were deceived by female professors.” He added that “elections are an atmosphere; we must find our soul.”

Thanos Plevris

He supports the incompatibility of being both minister and MP, but stressed that extraparliamentary ministers should not accuse MPs of populism. He called for an end to what he described as unnecessary protection of ministers and said: “Let us all be on TV panels ahead of elections for all issues. No more protected environment.”

From the same group, MP for Euboea Thanasis Zempilis noted: “We are not only being discredited as MPs by Kövesi, but also by friendly media close to the government.”

It is noted that immediately after Mitsotakis’ speech, MP Andreas Katsaniotis, who had co-signed the article of the five in the newspaper Ta Nea, went to the office of former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.

After Mr. Dimoschakis, former Deputy Minister of Health Dimitris Vartzopoulos (who is a psychiatrist by profession) took the floor and commented: “Is it a coincidence that I speak after this proposal—don’t look at me.”

Tasos Dimoschakis

He proposed introducing a psycho-social test for parliamentary candidates before election. He also suggested increasing the entry threshold to 6% for parliamentary entry and state funding of parties, with financing instead coming from member subscriptions and donations with full transparency. He also proposed psychotechnical tests for future candidates.

Statement by George Stylios

He called for unity, stating that elections will take place in one year, and that New Democracy is a party of government aiming to win elections with an autonomous majority under Mitsotakis. He stressed the importance of unity, consistency between words and actions, and recognition of the government’s achievements.

Criticism by Dimitris Kairidis

The parliamentary spokesperson of New Democracy reportedly made indirect references to dissenting MPs, criticizing them for expressing disagreement without proposals.

He also revived the proposal that the number of preference votes per MP should be printed on ballots.

He added that parliamentary group meetings should be more frequent and less dramatized, and that they are the most authentic expression of intra-party democracy.

He emphasized that New Democracy under Mitsotakis is the dominant political force setting the agenda and forcing other parties to position themselves. He proposed again the inclusion of preference vote counts on ballots.

Mitsotakis: Reduction of MPs is not part of constitutional revision

During the intervention of Euboea MP Thanasis Zempilis—one of the five who signed the article in Ta Nea—in which he said he does not agree with reducing the number of MPs, Kyriakos Mitsotakis intervened, stating that while he will not respond individually, this issue is outside the scope of constitutional revision.

He noted that the Constitution provides for 200 to 300 MPs, clarifying that “this is not for now.”

The Prime Minister also responded to the claim that it is contradictory to discuss reducing MPs while there are 6,000 fixed-term public employees, saying that this argument cannot be used, especially since this number mainly concerns Local Government.

Makis Voridis: The role of the MP is being questioned by an activist prosecutor

Voridis referred to European Prosecutor Laura Kövesi, stating that “a questioning of the role of the MP is being carried out by an activist judge.”

He stressed that there must be an end to the criminalization of political life, describing the case files submitted to Parliament as “absurd and ridiculous,” as they could include all 300 MPs.

He raised the issue of boundaries: “Will we receive citizens in our offices? They come because they have problems. Are we allowed to speak with the public administration? There needs to be delimitation.”

He also referred to the operational state as a coordination mechanism, governmental planning, and evaluation of government work, stating that this does not affect MPs. He concluded that what is happening today is not a conflict of that kind, but a direct questioning of the MP’s role, while praising Mitsotakis’ stance on strengthening the role of MPs.

The parliamentary group discussion of New Democracy is ongoing, with interventions by MPs following the opening speech by Prime Minister Mitsotakis, who set out messages to party MPs, criticized the opposition, and made extensive references to the Constitutional Revision and New Democracy’s proposals.