Number of independent MPs growing

The announcement by SYRIZA on Friday during a House plenary session to expel Athina Linou from its parliamentary group meant an increase in the number of independent MPs, until further notice, to 14.

This number, just a year after the national elections, makes independent MPs the fifth most numerically powerful force in Parliament.

The fourth most powerful parliamentary force is communist KKE, with 21 MPs, ahead of nationalist Hellenic Solution and the New Left, which have 11 MPs each.

However, the differences between these 14 independents are so entrenched that it is seen as next to impossible for them to coalesce by joint declaration into one parliamentary group as provided by House regulations in order to reap the corresponding "privileges" in the parliamentary procedures.