Parliament passes legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in landmark vote [InTime News] | Constantine CapsaskisNewsletter Editor |
Welcome to the weekly round-up of news by Kathimerini English Edition. On Thursday, the Hellenic Parliament passed a landmark bill that granted equal marriage rights and adoption rights to same-sex couples. Greece becomes the first majority-Orthodox Christian country to do so. A total of 175 MPs voted in favor of the legislation, while 77 voted against it and 46 abstained. As the results of the vote were announced, three hundred people who had been waiting outside parliament begun to celebrate and several LGBT+ couples announced their intention to be wed. The news was also celebrated by 28 foreign embassies in Athens which issued a joint statement applauding the bill granting equal marriage rights. “I think it is a landmark decision and I am proud as I introduced the bill as leader of the center-right,” said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the vote, but it is important to note that there was significant division within the ruling New Democracy party. Out of the government’s 158 parliamentarians, only 106 voted in favor of the bill. Additionally, former prime minister Antonis Samaras, an outspoken opponent of the bill and considered to express the hard right of the party, was very critical in his parliamentary speech. The government, as it has done in the past, refused to comment on the speech to avoid a complete rift between the two groups within New Democracy. This means that the bill was pushed over the line by the parties to the left of New Democracy, with the exception of the Greek Communist Party that voted against and several dissenters from center-left PASOK and two from SYRIZA that abstained. This was noted by both the leader of SYRIZA’s parliamentary group Sokratis Famellos,who said that “without the vote of SYRIZA this legislation would not be passed”, and the leader of the New Left Group Alexis Haritsis who stated that the government “knows that it will pass with the votes of the progressive parties within the opposition”. The government is now planning to move on from the bill, looking to overcome any internal difficulties that may be caused by the 52 “dissenting” MPs and to discourage the fomentation of any internal opposition. Spotlight |
OPINION | Tom EllisEditor-in-Chief, Kathimerini English Edition |
The day after and the alienation of conservative voters [AMNA]The successful passage of the bill legalizing same-sex marriage brought relief to the government as the measure had created internal divisions and had left deep scars in New Democracy with one third of the party’s deputies not voting for the law in parliament. In an effort to quickly turn the page the government will now move to other battles that carry their own challenges but are not as divisive for the ruling party. There is controversy and different approaches on some of the issues coming next, most prominent among them the higher education bill allowing for the establishment of private universities, but the opposition comes mainly from other parties. As the campaign for the June European elections is moving into full gear the political landscape is volatile. But the pressure on the government this time comes not so much from the center left, which remains divided into at least three parties – SYRIZA, PASOK and New Left – but from the right. A number of developments, mainly same-sex marriage, has alienated the most conservative part of New Democracy’s supporters, with a significant number of them eyeing and potentially voting for one of the three parties of the far Right; the religion based Niki (Victory), the nationalist Greek Solution and the Spartans who are for the most part remnants of Golden Dawn. In an effort to deal with this “threat”, during the next few months the government will try to appeal to the more conservative segments of society by promoting law and order and measures in support of families. |
| CHART OF THE WEEK | |  Several Greek institutions (the National Center for Social Research, the National Observatory of Athens, the University of West Attica, the Athena Research Center, the Hellenic Center for Marine Research, and the International Hellenic University) are collaborating in the framework of the JustReDI program to plan and contribute to Greece’s green and digital transition. According to the program’s experts, Greece is faring much better in its transition to green energy, being much closer to the European averages, while lagging in the digital transition. Greece is currently 25th (out of the EU 27) in the Digital Economy and Society Index. This is also reflected in the programs of the country’s 13 regional governments, with the majority (8) allocating less than 1% of the budget for the digital transition. |
| | |  | ESCAPADE | | A Sea of Stories: Preserving Cycladic Maritime Culture A new project by the Archipelago Network aims to explore the age-old maritime traditions of the Cyclades, and conserve them for future generations. Go to article > |
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| ECONOMY IN A NUTSHELL | | | “The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index posted its fourth consecutive week of gains, closing on Friday at 1,403.50 points. This 0.31% weekly increase reflects the positive momentum observed across Europe.” | | | “The winter forecast of the European Commission forecasts that Greece will achieve the fourth highest growth rate within the Eurozone at 2.3%. This is almost three times the Eurozone average of 0.8%.” | | | “The Greek tourism sector is set for another year of growth in 2024, with an estimated growth of 10% on top of 2023’s record 22 billion euros of revenues. There was a 12% increase in bookings for holidays in Greece this January according to the latest figures from the Greek Tourism Confederation.” |
| WHAT'S ON THE AGENDA | | - 19/02/2024European Meetings: European Union foreign ministers will meet on Monday while finance ministers will meet on Thursday.
- 20/02/2024Farmers march on Athens: Following a panhellenic meeting, Greece’s mobilized farmers are set to march on Athens on Tuesday as they expressed their dissatisfaction with the government’s proposed measures.
- 20/02/2024Roberta Metsola in Athens: President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola is set to conduct an official visit to Greece on Tuesday where she will meet with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and President Katerina Sakellaropoulou.
- 23/02/2024SYRIZA Convention: Main opposition party SYRIZA is set to hold its first party convention since the election of new leader Stefanos Kasselakis.
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Editor's Pick With European Parliament elections looming, the names under consideration for the conservative ballot do little to inspire optimism for meaningful change.Alexis PapachelasRead the article |
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