One-hundred and fifty-one deputies, out of 300, is now the “magic number” that the Tsipras government must tally this week during a vote of confidence in Parliament, after the collapse of the “strange bedfellows” coalition with the right-wing AN.EL party over the weekend.
While now former defense minister Panos Kammenos, the head of the Independent Greeks (AN.EL) party, made good on his promise to resign from the Cabinet and withhold support in Parliament, most analysts believe at least four out of the party’s seven deputies will not “toe the party line”.
Two erstwhile AN.EL MPs, in fact, Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura and Deputy Farm Minister Vassilis Kokkalis, switched political camps on Monday and promised to both support the government and vote in favor of the Prespa agreement. Kammenos, as expected, expelled the pair.
Another two AN.EL deputies, Costas Zouraris and Thanassis Papachristopoulos are also widely expected to ditch Kammenos’ right-wing party and seek political “shelter” with hard left SYRIZA in the remaining months of the Tsipras government’s tenure.
As such, only another two deputies are expected to follow Kammenos’ lead.
Deputy Public Order Minister Katerina Papakosta, a long-time ND deputy before her expulsion and subsequent “recruitment” to the Tsipras government, as well as at least one centrist Potami MP are also expected fulfill the 151-MP threshold.
The party also fields three out-of-Parliament Cabinet members, one of whom, Yannis Mavraganis, has already tendered his resignation as a deputy infrastructure and transports minister.
Conversely, Interior Minister Marina Chrysoveloni clearly said she’ll back the government and not heed Kammenos’ call, echoing a similar stance by Deputy Foreign Minister Terens Quick, previously among the most hard-line politicians vis-a-vis the fYRoM “name issue”.
