The Kyriakos Mitsotakis parliamentary group of the ND party is meeting today at 11:00 am under the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, which will be very important as it will be the start of the debate on the constitution revision.

The meeting will begin, with speeches by the secretary of the parliamentary group, Maximos Charakopoulos, and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Following the Prime Minister’s speech, which will set the framework for the debate, the speaker of the New Democracy party on the revision of the constitution Euripides Stylianidis, who will present the main proposals of the government majority.

Soon afterwards, the MPs who have been registered on the list of speakers will take the floor. It is noted that more than 40 deputies have registered to speak.

The proposal that will be presented at the meeting of the parliamentary group of the South West will essentially be the basis for discussion of 30 articles of the constitution for revision,which has emerged from the synthesis of the thoughts publicly expressed by the Prime Minister and the proposals submitted by the South West MPs. Indicative of the great response from members of the parliamentary group is the fact that more than 50 MPs have submitted proposals on which the composition of the 30 articles to be presented was based, and about 20 more have had oral discussions with those who participated in the drafting of the proposals. Almost half of the South West’s COs have thus responded by participating in the process.

It is worth noting that the grid of articles to be presented, which is an update and supplement to the 2018 South West proposal, is not binding and is not the final proposal of the South West, as the government remains open to other proposals or corrections, so this is a dynamic process which will continue.

Three objectives

According to government sources, the Prime Minister and the SW have 3 objectives with the constitution revision process and the articles proposed for revision:

-To restore the citizens’ trust in the state, institutions and the political system,

-A functional and efficient public administration,

-A modern constitution that will answer the challenges of 2026, not 1975, given that we have a 50-year-old constitutional charter that has served its purpose, but does not respond to modern challenges, from artificial intelligence to affordable housing, which today’s legislature should take into account.

The government’s intention is to start the process in parliament in May, when the relevant proposal will be tabled by the South West (50 MPs’ signatures are required) and then, by decision of the Speaker, the constitution review committee will be constituted and begin its work, which is also expected to happen in May.

According to reports, Kyriakos Mitsotakis will make a deep institutional speech at the meeting of the parliamentary group of the Southwest party, focusing on the revision of the constitution, which he is treating doubly:

First, as a set of rules that comes to provide a comprehensive solution to issues concerning the functioning of the constitution and public life that come from the past and,

Second, to pave the way for major reforms as the country heads into the fourth decade of the 21st century.

At the same time, the prime minister will also outline the tasks of the parliamentary team ahead of the constitutional revision, the May 15-17 congress of the South-Western Party and the election year, which is 2027.

According to his associates, he is putting emphasis not on his own positioning but on what the ND MPs want to say.

Finally, the prime minister is expected to address the opposition’s embarrassment over the institutional changes he is proposing.

Provisions in public debate

So far, the Southwest has put the following provisions up for public debate for review:

-Article 5 (Free development of personality, personal freedom) to protect the freedom of the individual and his/her safety from artificial intelligence

-Article 16 (Education, art, science) for the establishment of non-state universities

-Article 30 (President of the Republic regulator of the constitution) for only one term, six years, of the President of the Republic

-Article 51 (Election of deputies, electoral law – specifically for postal voting) and Article 54 (Electoral system, Constituencies, State Deputies) for the Electoral Law

-Article 86 (Prosecution against members of the Government, Special Court) for criminal liability of ministers

-Article 90 (Supreme Judicial Council) for selection of the leadership of the judiciary

-Article 101A (Independent Authorities) for Independent Authorities

-Article 103 (Public Servants) redefining tenure of public servants

Additionally, has raised the following issues:

-Merima for affordable housing

-Fiscal “cutter”

-Functioning of political parties

-Climate crisis.

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