“To Give or Not to Give?” This question seems to torture 16 lawmakers from governing party PASOK currently contemplating on whether to give a letter they wrote to Prime Minister George Papandreou about the midterm austerity package that will have to be passed by the parliament in the middle of the June. According to Greek media, the lawmakers formulated their objections to the voting procedures and demand a comprehensive review of the package and a clear explanation on the privatization program. They request detailed information about the nature and requirements of the Mid-Term Stability Program and oppose a so-called “one-article” voting. In this procedure, the Stability Program would be voted as a whole and not its several articles separately.
Rumors are conflicting regarding the fate of the letter. Some media claim that some of the signed lawmakers withdrew their signatures after intervention of the PASOK parliamentary group convincing them that such an action would undermine the atmosphere withing the ruling party. Other media report that the initiators keep collecting signatures.
Panayiotis Kouroumplis, PASOK MP, told radio station TO VIMA 99.5 fm that the wording of the letter expresses the anxiety of the PASOK lawmakers about the future of the country.” He argued that the initiative is in the context of democratic procedures.
“Every lawmaker has his own anxieties… We are not an army troop . We need explanations,” Kouroumplis said, and warned that should the Austerity Program come to the Parliament without a previous review and discussion, some MP may refuse to vote for it. “How to vote in express parliamentary procedures the second Package, when the first has failed?”
The lawmakers also demand an open discussion in the Parliament and a thorough review of one year with the Memordanum of Understanding.
See the Letter in Greek HERE
