Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Movement for Change and Pasok leader Fofi Gennimata have opened a dialogue on the prospects of collaborating on a revision of the Greek Constitution, which both of their parties are supporting in principle.
Responding to Gennimata’s proposals, Tsipras, in a letter that was made public, noted that he has already begun public consultations on the process of tabling constitutional amendments – with parties, civil society groups, and individual citizens submitting proposals – which he indicated should entail deep legal reforms.
Gennimata has also come up with a series of proposed amendments to articles of the constitution which were hammered out by renowned Constitutional Law Professor Nikos Alivizatos, including changes to the process of amending the Constitution and to the process of electing the President of the Republic.
Tsipras said the proposed revision must not be ideologically neutral, but should instead be “progressive”.
The PM said that the existing parliamentary balances between parties can deliver the requisite number of votes – a simple parliamentary majority – to decide which articles of the constitution will be selected for debate and amendment in a future parliamentary session.
Tsipras did not elaborate on what he considers “progressive” in terms of revising the constitution.
One provision that all parties agree must be scrapped is the one that has been implemented through the “law on ministerial responsibility”, which establishes an extremely truncated statute of limitation for crimes that ministers commit while in office, and which essentially lets the culprits of the hook in most cases.
