Parliament to brobe bribery claims but judges may be called on again

The government has proposed that a parliamentary inquiry be set up to investigate allegations that two ex-prime ministers and eight former ministers accepted bribes from Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis, with the likely outcome being that the case will be referred back to the justice system.

During a meeting of SYRIZA's parliamentary group on Monday, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced the coalition's intention to ask for a preliminary judicial inquiry into the claims made by three protected witnesses. He said it was the only "institutional path" available to the government. "The case file has to be examined and it has to be established whether there are satisfactory signs that offenses have been committed," he said.

In a speech that seemed aimed at the voters who helped SYRIZA win the 2015 elections, Tsipras suggested that his government now has an...