#GREECE: Parliament Set To Legalize Gay Marriage

[world politics news]

Greece’s parliament is to vote Thursday to legalize same-sex civil marriage in a first for an Orthodox Christian country and despite opposition from the the powerful Greek Church.

As lawmakers debated the bill for a second day, opinion polls suggest that most Greeks support the proposed reform by a narrow margin. The issue has failed to trigger deep divisions in a country more worried about the high cost of living.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#GREECE: PM May Seek New Election, Despite Landslide

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The New Democracy party (ND) of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has won a landslide victory over its main rival, the left-wing Syriza party of Alexis Tsipras in Greece's national elections on Sunday, according to official preliminary results.  

With most polling stations processed, the ND reportedly had a 21-point lead over Syriza, but still no absolute majority.  

Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis hailed the outcome as a "political earthquake" and a strong mandate for the ND.

But even if the ND has won the most seats, the lack of an outright victory means Mitsotakis will either have to seek coalition partners or choose to head to a new election.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#GREECE: PM Disolves Parliament, Sets May 21st Election

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Greece’s president approved a request by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Saturday to dissolve parliament and hold elections on May 21, as the country gears for a vote that is unlikely to produce an outright winner.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#GREECE: Small Right -Wing Party Banned By Lawmakers

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Greek MPs have voted to ban the extreme-right Greeks-National Party from running in elections, aiming to block its members linked to the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn criminal organization from entering parliament.

The Greeks-National Party was founded two years ago by former lawmaker Ilias Kasidiaris, who is currently serving a more than 13-year prison sentence over his leading role in Golden Dawn, which was declared a criminal organization in 2020 for charges including murder, racist violence and money laundering. Kasidiaris still managed to gain significant support from messages posted on YouTube while in jail.

[FULL STORY HERE]


World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#GREECE: Parliament To Investigate Wiretapping Of Opposition Leader

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Greek lawmakers have voted to launch a parliamentary investigation into the tapping by the country's secret service of an opposition party leader's phone.

The scandal has plunged Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' center-right government into a political storm. Mitsotakis has denied any prior knowledge of the surveillance, which he said was wrong, and pledged to overhaul the EYP secret service.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Submarine Deal Signed Between France And Greece

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Greece and France have signed a $5 billion deal for Athens to buy at least four French-made warships. French and American contractors had been in a bidding war since 2019, when Greece announced it was looking to buy half a dozen naval attack vessels. For French President Emmanuel Macron, it was a much-needed win after the recent AUKUS debacle, when the US froze Paris out of a security pact with Australia and the UK, nixing a contract for Australia to buy French submarines. 

Macron and Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis touted the deal as a move towards European "strategic autonomy" (since coming to power in 2017, Macron has been a strong advocate of Europe pursuing a defense strategy independent from the US). 

Greece, for its part, has also been looking to boost its own military capabilities amid deteriorating relations with longtime foe Turkey over competing maritime claims in the Eastern Mediterranean.

It should be noted that despite the traditional hostility between Greece and Turkey, both are members of NATO, the military alliance that supposedly works together on military matters. This deal is a significant departure from that alliance, and NATO officials have expressed their concern and dismay over the deal.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#NORTHMACEDONIA: Labor Min. Fired After Using The Country's Wrong Name In Press Conference

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The parliament in North Macedonia has fired Labor Minister Rashela Mizrahi for failing to use the country’s new official name during a press conference -- a sensitive issue in the western Balkan nation following a long-standing dispute over the moniker.

Following six hours of debate on February 14, the parliament voted 62-26 to dismiss Mizrahi, a member of the opposition VMRO DPMNE party, part of the caretaker government.

The vote came after Prime Minister Oliver Spasovski submitted a proposal to lawmakers to fire Mizrahi because she violated the constitution by failing to respect the  Prespa agreement and thereby endangering North Macedonia's European integration efforts.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#GREECE: Electoral Law Would Award "Bonus Seats" To Parliament

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A proposed law would award "bonus seats"  to the winning party in elections, helping to avoid hung parliaments.

Under fthr bill, the winning party receives 25% of the vote it will get a bonus of 20 seats, and an additional seat for every additional half a percentage point.

If it wins more than 40%  then it will receive a maximum of 50 bonus seats.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#GREECE: Greeks Living Abroad May Get To Vote For Parliamentary Deputies, Serve In Parliament

[world politics news]

A proposal to give the right to vote to those Greeks living overseas, and even allow them to serve as Deputies in Parliament, is likely to receive unanimous support, reports say. The New Democracy Party-led government made the proposals, which would amend the nation's election laws, and leave it to parliament to enact legislation to determine the capacity in which ex-pat Deputies would serve.

All parliamentary parties have expressed, one way or the other, their cautious support to the governmental amendment and it remains to be seen whether this historic vote will garner the absolute unanimous support in the House; something extremely rare in the country’s turbulent political history.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#GREECE: New Gov't Wants To Replace Previous Leftist Gov't Appointment To Commission

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The newly elected New Democracy Party government is due to pass a law providing for the dismissal of members and staff of the competition commission if they have recently served in government offices.

This  means that the current competition boss, Vassiliki Thanou, will have to be replaced.

Thanou, a former supreme court chief justice, was nominated by the previous leftist government and before that, she was a non-paid adviser of former premier Alexis Tsipras.

The opposition Syriza Party is accusing the government of interfering in the operation of the commission, which regulates business.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#GREECE: Oppo Parties Will Boycott Extended Parliament Session

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Opposition parties in Greece say they will boycott an extension of the Parliamentary session after the government submitted a series of amendments to the House.

With just a month to go before a snap general election, lawmakers said they were opposed to the government’s plan to keep Parliament open for a few more days so that it can pass 11th hour legislation that will make it practically impossible for them to examine its content in detail.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#NORTHMACEDONIA: Controversial National Name Change Dominates Election For Largely Ceremonial Presidency

[world politics news]

What would normally be an inconsequential election for the largely ceremonial post of president in North Macedonia has morphed into an unofficial referendum on the June 2018 Prespes Agreement which settled, at least on paper, the name dispute between Greece and its newly-renamed neighbor, North Macedonia.

The country, which lies north of the Macedonia region in Greece, has long fought to keep its similar name, after becoming an independent nation after Yugoslavia broke apart in the early 1990s. Greeks demanded they change their name, saying there was only "one Macedonia."

North Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev fought to get the deal with Greece ratified, but this issue still eclipses all others in the presidential election campaign.

While the presidency is largely ceremonial, the president must sign off on legislation and is the supreme commander of the armed forces.  Outgoing President Gjorge Ivanov has on multiple occasions refused to sign off on legislation and was in most cases bypassed.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#GREECE: PM Tsipras Narrowly Wins Confidence Vote Following Minister's Resignation Over North Macedonia Renaming

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Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday won a confidence vote in parliament, just days after the country's governing coalition collapsed. Tsipras received the minimum 151 votes he needed from the parliament for his government to survive. The vote came after a key minister in the Greek government quit last week over the Macedonia name dispute. Macedonia, the nation to the north, renamed itself last week "North Macedonia" to placate the Greek region of Macedonia, which lies to the nation's south. Prime Minister Tsipras said he would put the ratification of the Macedonia name-change agreement on the agenda.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#MACEDONIA: Parliament Adopts "North Macedonia" National Name To End Dispute With Greece

[world politics news]

Macedonia's parliament has approved a constitutional amendment to change the country's name to the Republic of North Macedonia.

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev narrowly secured the two-thirds majority to make the change, aimed at ending a 27-year dispute with Greece, which has its own region called Macedonia. The change opens up possible NATO and you and United Nations memberships.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#GREECE: President Renews Claims Against Germany's Nazi Past; Says Reparation Demand Is "Legal"

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Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos has defended his nation's claim that it is owed war reparations from Germany. He made the comments after meeting last week with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was in the capital, Athens, on an official visit.

The demands of Greece regarding the reparations for crimes of the "inhuman" Nazi invasion and occupation of Greece during World War II are "legal" and "legally enforceable," Pavlopoulos told reporters.

Merkel, for her part, said Germans are aware of the crimes that Nazis had committed in Greece. However, German officials have in the recent past rejected claims for reparations from Greece, Poland and other nations.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#GREECE: Gov't Hails Debt Restructuring Deal That Puts An End To 8-Year Financial Crisis

[world politics news]

Greece’s government has said the country is “turning a page” after Euro Zone member states reached an agreement on the final elements of a plan to make its massive debt pile more manageable, ending an eight-year bailout program. Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos hailed the "historic decision," which meant "the Greek people can smile again." For the first time since he took office in January 2015, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras donned a tie – fulfilling an election that he's only wear one after Greece had settled its debt problems.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#GREECE: After Divisive Debate, Parliament Grants Gay Couples Right To Become Foster Parents

[world politics news]

A bill allowing same-sex couples to become foster parents has passed in Greece's parliament in a 161 to 103 vote. The vote put an end to a long and heated debate. The legislation grants the right to foster children to couples under civil partnership, but clearly states that they cannot adopt children. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras attacked opposition parties for opposing the legislation, accusing them of stoking "anachronistic stereotypes and phobia syndromes."

[FULL STORY HERE]

#GREECE: Parliament Passes Gender Identity Law Over Orthodox Church's Objections

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Greece’s left-wing government has passed legislation enabling citizens to determine their gender identity amid fierce condemnation from the Orthodox church and accusations the law would “destroy human beings." After two days of highly charged debate, the prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, rallied parliament to endorse policies that would permit people to legally change their gender on all official documents without undergoing sterilization
.
[FULL STORY HERE]

#GREECE: Parliament Approves Primary Care Healthcare Reform Bill

[world politics news]

A health ministry bill introducing changes to primary care has been approved in principle, establishing, "a feasible implementation plan for the development of a network of public primary care services," according to Health Minister Andreas Xanthos. The SYRIZA and ANEL parties voted in favor of the bill, New Democracy, Golden Dawn, Democratic Coalition and the Communist Party voted against, while Potami and the Centrists Union voted "present."

[FULL STORY HERE]

#GREECE: War Of Words Escalates Between PM & German Finance Min.

[world politics news]

The acrimonious public spat between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has gotten personal after the latter said in an interview that he felt "no compassion" for the Greek leader. The German minister said he could not understand why Tsipras accuses the German government of wanting to harm Greek pensioners – in reference to Berlin’s opposition to the government granting a Christmas bonus to low-income pensioners. Germany, he said, is trying to help Greece get back on its feet, adding that understanding "has its limits."