Ruling New Democracy expelled MP Marios Salmas on Monday and saw its seats in Parliament dropping to 156. Absolute majority is 151 seats.
Marios Salmas was one of the 11 ND MPs who last week submitted a question to the Parliament regarding the “red loans” and what the ruling party intents to do to protect citizens.
In appearances on private TV Channels, Salmas opening criticized the governing party claiming “opaque procedures for the exploitation of canteens and restaurants of museums and archaeological sites”, that is by the Culture Ministry as well as of the Ministry of Health.
PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis did not like at all Salmas’ claims and advised him to the ND’s Ethics Committee already on Saturday, accusing him of “anti-parliamentary or anti-party or anti-colleague behavior that causes serious damage to the party or another MP” as daily efsyn.gr reported.
Salmas’ interventions, however, did not stop in his latest claims. He belongs to the group of 11 ND MPs who submitted a critical question to Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis about the bad loans, while he had also “fired straight shots” at both Adonis Georgiadis, Health Minister and ND vice, and the prime minister, in the first meeting of the parliamentary group after the European elections.
According to sources, the Salmas’ interview with the Committee interview lasted no more than five minutes and, as government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis later informed the press, the committee decided to expel him from the party.
In a statement, Salmas disputed the grounds for his expulsion as unfair, linking it to his criticism in Parliament of ministerial and government actions, while noting that it was the constitutional right of MPs to check ministers, not a reason for expulsion.
The MP told media that he would not give up his seat in Parliament and will not return it to New Democracy.
“Do you think I should abandon the fight for the many?” he asked rhetorically. He reportedly also claimed that he was expelled because he criticized ND by co-signing with 10 other ND MPs the question about bad loans and in order to send a message to the rest of the its parliamentary group members. He even linked his expulsion to the fact that he did not vote in favor of the marriage of same-sex couples.
ND boiling
However, the issue seems to be much deeper as MPs of the ruling party feel that they have been excluded from government decisions on crucial topics for the society. Not to mention that New Democracy has been constantly dropping in public opinion polls after August.
“The issue after Salmas’ expulsion is now for the PM’s office is whether the… rest of ND MPs have got the message, because for a long time now information has been saying that there is an effervescence in the ‘blue faction’, while the initiatives against the government cannot be ruled out to multiply in the upcoming period of time,” efsyn.gr commented.
ND MPs appear disturbed by Salmas’ expulsion, with one of the historical officials of the party, Nikitas Kaklamanis to hint that “discontent within the party is much bigger” than the group of 11 lawmakers who signed the question about the bad loans.
“Being a government MP does not mean that you are deprived of the right to government control,” former minister Kaklamanis told parapolitika FM adding “we had ‘complaints’ from colleagues because we did not tell them to sign the question.”
Also ND MP Giorgos Vlachos appeared annoyed saying to Parapolitika FM, “I was expecting that the prime minister or some of his associates would call Salmas to give explanations and evidence for everything he said. Instead, I see that after so long this matter is still dragging on, as a result of which we have reached today’s developments”, he underlined, expressing his dissatisfaction with the fast track procedures by the Prime Minister.
PS the usual mean Greeks see also some former conservative premiers behind the “rebellious” actions of New Democracy MPs with the aim to put Mitsotakis under pressure. It is allegedly more than a rumor that several Nd officials do not fancy the way the PM rules and the path he follows, a path marked with arrogance and ignorance of citizens’ problems.
The purpose of backbenchers is to obey the elite, no more. It is a mirror of our society in general, the many exist to serve the few.