A closely watched amendment prescribing the automatic prosecution of anyone blocking the auction process or court officers taking part in property auctions was passed on Thursday evening, after initial opposition by several MPs from ruling SYRIZA party was overcome.
Voting in favor were 146 deputies from leftist SYRIZA and its small junior coalition partner, the rightist-populist Independent Greeks (AN.EL) party. Sixty-two mainstream opposition MPs abstained, while 35 MPs – from the Communist Party (KKE), the ultra-nationalist Golden Dawn and the Union of Centrists – voted against the amendment.
The only “concession” to SYRIZA MPs was the deletion of a paragraph in the amendment stipulating the automatic prosecution (proprio motu) for even a threat against a notary participating in an auction.
