A new and increased “unofficial” government majority emerged on Monday after six MPs originally hailing from different parties informed the parliament president that their affirmative vote should, from now on, be considered as a given in any draft bill tabled by the Tsipras government, and up for ratification without a roll-call vote.
The development essentially means that two lesser Parliament-represented parties, the previous coalition partner, the right-wing Independent Greeks (AN.EL) party, and the centrist Potami, lose their parliamentary group status in the 300-MP legislature.
The six include current Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura, who hailed from AN.EL and was in previous years known as a hard-line right-wing politician; Vassilis Kokkalis, another one-time AN.EL deputy who continues to hold a deputy ag minister’s portfolio; Katerina Papacostas, another right-of-center career politician who was expelled from main opposition New Democracy and later given a deputy public order portfolio on the Cabinet; Costas Zouraris and Thanasis Papachristopoulos, two controversial politicians hailing from AN.EL, and finally, Spyros Danellis, a left-leaning MP who distanced himself from centrist Potami.
The “six” joined 145 MPs of leftist SYRIZA in providing a vote of confidence late last month.
Zouraris, who is based in Thessaloniki and is elected from the northern Greece metropolis, merely clarified that he will not vote for a protocol ratifying the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’s (fYRoM) NATO entry, ostensibly as the “Republic of Northern Macedonia”.
At the same time, the six deputies said they will not join SYRIZA’s Parliamentary group.
