Same-sex marriage: the war of all against all

By Constantine Capsaskis

Newsletter Editor

Welcome to the weekly round-up of news by Kathimerini English Edition. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis officially put the legalization of same-sex marriages on the political agenda this week during a televised interview.

The prime minister stated that the proposed legislation would ensure equal rights for the children of same-sex couples, but stressed that the bill would exclude the right to assisted reproduction through a surrogate mother.

Mitsotakis also announced that he would not call for the imposition of a three-line whip on his government’s parliamentarians, calling on dissenting New Democracy lawmakers to abstain from the vote.

The proposed bill had already caused friction within New Democracy, with many leading members of the party’s conservative wing publicly stating that they would not vote in favor of any such legislation in the run-up to the prime minister’s interview.

Among these dissenters is former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who has already voted against the party line on the issue of migration, who decried the idea that MPs should abstain from the vote.

The issue also led to rifts within main opposition party SYRIZA, as its leader Stefanos Kasselakis announced that he would be imposing complete party discipline in favor of the legislation (despite objections that it does not go far enough in cementing parenthood rights) during a TV interview.

This announcement came as a shock to many members of the party, with leading figures in the party openly disagreeing with the speed with which SYRIZA agreed to the bill.

Kasselakis doubled down on Saturday, warning that any SYRIZA lawmaker who votes against the proposed bill faces the risk of expulsion. The comments were widely seen to be criticism of his close collaborator Pavlos Polakis, who stated that he does not want to vote in favor of the bill.

Kasselakis also opened a front against center-left PASOK and its leader Nikos Androulakis, with which SYRIZA is competing for second place in the upcoming European elections. Calling Androulakis, one of the most prominent victims of the wiretapping scandal, a “blackmailed president of the lesser opposition”, he ruled out any co-operation.

PASOK, which engaged in fierce criticism of the government over its recommendation to dissenting MPs to abstain and stated that the opposition should not be used to solve the ruling party’s internal divisions, announced it will adopt a more critical stance against SYRIZA, noting that Kasselakis “opened the floodgates” with his attacks.

Spotlight

• As the crisis in the Red Sea continues to escalate, a Greek-owned tanker headed for Turkey was seized by Iran. Among the 19 crewmembers aboard the tanker, long a thorn of contention in US-Iran relations, is a Greek national. Empire Navigation, the tanker’s owner, have looked for help from the United States government in ensuring the safe return of its crew. The Hellenic Coast Guard is also expected to play an important role in these efforts, having previously been part of negotiations over two other Greek-owned tankers that had been seized by the Revolutionary Guard. At the same time, as the situation between the US-led coalition forces in the area and Yemeni Houthis becomes increasingly more volatile, a Hellenic Navy delegation is set to travel to Bahrain next week to co-ordinate Greece’s participation in Operation ‘Prosperity Guardian’. The frigates “Hydra” and “Psarra”, both German-made MEKO-200 ships, are the most likely candidates to participate in the operation.

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• Against this backdrop, the National Security Governmental Council (KYSEA) convened this week to appoint Lieutenant General Dimitrios Houpis as the new Chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his gratitude to outgoing Chief General Konstantinos Floros, who served in the position for four – particularly volatile – years. At the same time, the KYSEA announced new General Staff chiefs for all three branches of the Hellenic Armed Forces. Specifically, Lieutenant General Georgios Kostidis has been appointed Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff, Vice Admiral Dimitrios Kataras has been named Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff, and Lieutenant General Dimosthenis Grigoriadis was announced as the new Chief of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff.

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OPINION

Greece opting for a new defense model

Tom Ellis

Editor-in-Chief, Kathimerini English Edition

Greece has made a strategic decision to opt for quality, innovation and strengthening of its domestic defense industry, over quantity, the static traditional way of doing things and the total reliance on foreign weapon systems.

The recent sweeping changes to the military leadership reflect the intention to move to a new era, building the “armed forces of 2030.”

The selection of the new chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff, General Houpis, a PhD with honors?in information transmission systems (from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens) can only be seen as a reflection of the new direction Greece will follow and the new model it will implement.

The experience in Ukraine, and more recently in Gaza, as well as before that in the Caucuses, has led to the conclusion that Greece needs to create a new model of both military production and defense posturing.

It needs?to invest more in its own human capital to maximize its potential, and in its own military?industry, with an emphasis on developing low cost, high-potential systems.

Creating a whole new defense ecosystem and moving the Greek armed forces to the next generation, with new technologies, such as drones, telecoms and IT technology and electronic warfare, is an existential prerequisite for country’s security, and thus, the challenge for the country’s new military – as well as the political – leadership.

CHART OF THE WEEK

American investment bank Jefferies predicts that there will be further interest rate increases on time deposits in Greece in 2024, which will favor the flow of savings from ordinary saving accounts to time deposits. So far, Greek banks have passed on just an average of 15% of the increases in interest rates, compared to a 20% European average, but this is expected to increase by 50% in 2024. However, as Greek banks have a low loan-to-deposit ratio (between 60% and 70%), which results in high levels of liquidity, there is a decreased interest in attracting new deposits which further limits any pressure to significantly increase interest rates.

ESCAPADE

Talk of the Town: The Changing Face of Athens

We take a closer look at some of the key infrastructure challenges currently facing Athens, as local authorities strive for sustainable development.

Go to article >

ECONOMY IN A NUTSHELL

1. “The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,352.65 points this week, a ten-year high. The benchmark was up 3.12% from last week on its seventh consecutive positive session.”
2. “The Development Ministry submitted a bill this week to combat continued retail price increases. Among the measures proposed are a three-month prohibition of promotional actions on products that have been repriced, as well as a ceiling on the gross profit margin of companies that import, produce, and distribute baby formula (whose price has soared in recent months).”
3. “Short-term letting property owners declared 33% more revenues to tax authorities during the first 10 months of 2023. The increase is a result of the record-breaking performance of the tourism sector in 2023, more properties being added to the short-term letting pool, and more institutional compliance by owners who had previously flouted regulations.”

WHAT'S ON THE AGENDA

15/01/2024

Davos: Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will participate in the annual World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland. This is the first WEF since Greece was granted investment grade by most major credit rating agencies, while the prime minister is also expected to discuss the country’s green transition.

16/01/2024

Tempe Inquiry: The parliamentary inquiry into the Tempe railway disaster will continue with several current and former executives of Greece’s major railway companies (from both TrainOSE and ErgOSE) being summoned to testify.

18/01/2024

Parliamentary Agenda: The House is set to vote on several government legislations next week including the use of mail-in ballots for the upcoming European elections and measures to reduce instances of sport-related violence.

PODCAST

The far-right on the rise ahead of EU elections in June

Alexandra Voudouri, Kathimerini’s Brussels correspondent, joins Thanos Davelis to look at what’s at stake this year in the European-wide elections for European Parliament in June, and break down whether the concerning growing support for the far-right we are seeing could turn into a political tsunami.

Listen to Episode >