What the debate in the Parliament showed: The political conflicts and the new fronts – 2024-03-13 04:39:03

In a climate of tensions, back and forths and ideological divisions, the Pierrakaki bill for non-state universities was passed with 159 votes (158 of the ND plus the positive vote of the independent X. Katsivardas), 129 against (SYRIZA, PASOK, KKE, Hellenic Solution, New Left) , Niki and Pleussi Eleftherias) and 11 present (10 from the Spartans and 1 the independent Michalis Khourdakis) out of 299 voters (Nina Kasimati of SYRIZA did not vote on principle by mistake). The result was announced after a long delay as the e-voting process closed at 12.25 past midnight (voting started at 9.30 pm).

Next step is article 16

Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke of “a radical change in Greek education and a brave reform of development and social justice”. Although the consents sought by the government – at least with PASOK – were not achieved, and despite the predictions of those who assume that the new law without prior revision of Article 16 of the Constitution will collide with the Council of State, the institutionalization of the new framework at the highest education is a fact. It remains to be seen in practice.

The next step is the revision of Article 16 of the Constitution, which, as shown by PASOK’s stance, will not be easy at all. The intervention of the parliamentary representative of the party, Dimitris Mantzou, shortly before the conclusion of the debate, added another asterisk to this process. As he said “we don’t trust the government” in asking it to commit to the content of the Article 16 provision: “Consent will be given after discussion on the content of the provision, not whether we will revise it, but how we will revise it,” the executive said PASOK stipulating that his party will not provide support to the present (proposing) Parliament so that an increased majority of 180 MPs will be required in the next (revision) Parliament, which will also determine the content of the revised provision.

Pierrakakis – Voridis v. PaSoK

In fact, this position provoked the reaction of the Minister of Education Kyriakos Pierrakakis, who spoke of a “sixth revolution of PASOK”, commenting that with his position, among others, he assumes that the ND will be the government in the next Parliament as well, while on the occasion of attitude reminded him of an old ad that said “In Villabajo they still grind…”.

But the Minister of State Makis Voridis also referred to the issue: “You are asking us to take a position on the content of the provision of article 16 and what it will say that they are non-state non-profit. This Parliament proposes to the revising Parliament the articles to be revised because there are elections and the content is subject to the judgment of the voters who give the direction to the revising Parliament. You don’t care about all that. You ask to vote that the provision for non-governmental non-profits. Today we vote non-governmental non-profits. Why don’t you vote for them? You are completely untrustworthy locked into your petty party tactics.”

Mitsotakis: A radical change in Education

For Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the passing of the draft law is a “radical cut” in Greek education and a “confirmation of a need of the times”, so that tens of thousands of Greek children stop going abroad, spending resources, and at the same time facilitate foreign educational organizations to invest in this space with strict standards – “they are probably the strictest in Europe”, he said.

For the majority, it is an arrangement “that comes to gain lost ground and lost time” since, as the Prime Minister pointed out, “Greece cannot remain captive to dogmas any longer”. “This passage turns into an opportunity a perennial meteoric weakness without waiting for the revision of article 16 which will come to the revising Parliament anyway”, he said, while in the great debate that has opened about the constitutionality or otherwise of the bill he clarified that “we are talking about an explicit provision for foreign institutions to function as branches of recognized institutions, on the basis of the relevant constitutional imperatives and EU law”, which, as he noted, is confirmed by the majority of constitutional scholars.

Mr. Mitsotakis attacked the opposition for the “myths embraced by its disparate voices”. In fact, in a reflex move, the ND also requested a roll call vote on all the articles, including those concerning the support of the public university “so that we can be counted and see how many of them you will vote for”, as said by the Prime Minister, who accused SYRIZA that “you have a president who studied in an American non-state – non-profit university with a scholarship, the University of Pennsylvania, and if his university came to build a branch in Greece, he would say “no” to the university where he studied!”, with Sokratis Famellos to answer him: “Mr. Mitsotakis questions the right of the president of SYRIZA to speak about public universities. Where did you study? At a public university?’

Fire against Androulakis

Mitsotakis reserved more fire against Nikos Androulakis and PASOK, saying that “your polyphony is gradually turning into a complete backlash” speaking of “absolute political surrealism”. The response of Mr. Androulakis was severe, he spoke of an “imitation of reform” and a “fake reform that will be supported by only 158 MPs, while for us reform means a vision”, as he said, accusing the government of “legislating in the interest of ». “We were dizzy by the pirouettes,” said the prime minister in his rebuttal to the president of PASOK, challenging him to commit now to the revision of article 16 and telling him that the model he is proposing is not Scandinavian but a “Scandinavian crossword.”

Koutsoubas is in the sights

The debate was also overshadowed by Dimitris Koutsoubas’s reference to “sugar daddies” – sponsors of female students’ studies due to the imposition of tuition fees with obvious exchanges, with Mr. Mitsotakis harshly criticizing because the KKE secretary did not apologize, proving, as he said, that “the KKE remains the most anachronistic force”, while he warned Perissos that “you will no longer remain in the fireproof”. The secretary of the KKE, speaking earlier, insisted saying that “what disturbs is not the reality, but the denunciation and its disclosure” while testifying in the minutes of the advertisements of foreign companies that “try to take advantage of students to pay the high tuition fees for the studies in developed European countries”.

For a “sexist and unacceptable” statement and for “unjustified targeting of female students for allegedly looking for sugar daddies for their studies”, the president of Freedom Movement, Zoe Konstantopoulou, spoke, accusing Koutsoumba of “trying in every way to become viral at a time when ridicule has passed and all kinds of Internet and non-clowns are deified”, while the Deputy Minister of Education Zetta Makri commented that “my only consolation is that Aleka Papariga would never insist on such a thing”. On the occasion of this report, Papariga stated that “the KKE, regardless of who is its general secretary, has throughout time denounced the networks which, either illegally or “legally” with a brand name and VAT number, seek to exploit and prostitute young women and men”.