A discussion in Parliament on the proposals by opposition parties for a debate on a referendum about the privatization of 30 percent of the Public Power Corporation, the so-called “Small DEI,” (small PPC) ended without their approval.
The Parliament rejected the request of the opposition parties to hold a referendum on small PPC unanimously, since the opposition parties chose not to participate in the voting process.
The discussion, that began in the Parliament on Friday ended when PASOK and New Democracy coalition government MPs voted against the referendum and leftist SYRIZA, Independent Greeks, and Communist Party (KKE) MPs walked out of the building and did not attend the session.
The opposition MPs boycotted the discussion, called by coalition lawmakers, after deeming it to be a “parody” and a “deeply undemocratic constitutional aberration.” The meeting was proposed by the government majority, and it was vehemently opposed by the opposition parties.
The aim of this initiative, opposition sources said, was to make SYRIZA appear to be cooperating with neo-nazi Golden Dawn, one of the seven parties calling for a referendum.
The support of a minimum of 120 MPs is needed for Parliament’s plenary session — now in summer recess — to be recalled and a debate to begin. According to the Parliament’s rules, a referendum must be voted on by the plenary of the Parliament. The “Small PPC” is a spinoff of the Public Power Corporation whose break-up and subsequent privatization of the 30 percent was approved through a bill passed in Parliament by the governing majority.
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