New Democracy

The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece on Tuesday issued a statement expressing support for a controversial anti-racism bill, foreseeing stiffer penalties for individuals and political parties which engage in racism or incite racist violence, which is to be debated in Parliament next week.

Ex-cabinet secretary and prime-ministerial adviser Panayiotis Baltakos says he is not poised to form his own party but believes New Democracy should be doing more to attract right-wing voters.

Administrative Reform Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed opposition on Friday to New Democracy’s apparent plans to bring back into the fold politicians who had left the party in the past and went on to be part of what he termed “populist” parties.

Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis held talks on Friday with concerned New Democracy and PASOK MPs and pledged to make changes to the unified property tax (ENFIA) that would reduce the burden on taxpayers.

Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis on Friday briefed MPs from junior coalition partner PASOK on the proposed improvements to a contentious unified property tax, known by its acronym ENFIA, and listened to amendments demanded by skeptical lawmakers.

The changes proposed by the ministry would ease the burden on thousands of taxpayers by 167 million euros, according to sources.

A former member of Golden Dawn who will also testify in the trial of party MPs and supporters has told a US-based rights group that the police were under orders not to trouble neo-Nazis.

The leader of Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS), Giorgos Kartzaferis, said Thursday that he is prepared to work with New Democracy, the party from which he was ousted in 2000, to prevent SYRIZA winning the next general elections.

The government is seeking ways to temper the uproar provoked by a new single property ownership tax (ENFIA), which is being revised after erroneous data initially used to calculate it resulted in disproportionately large levies for thousands of homeowners, and is considering allowing taxpayers to pay the levy in several installments and over a longer period of time.

By Costas Iordanidis

The ongoing crisis has challenged the fundamentals of Greece’s political system – a situation to which parties have often responded with cheap tricks.

The omnibus bill needed for Greece to receive its next 1-billion-euro sub-tranche from its lenders was passed through Parliament on Wednesday despite containing some provisions that caused skepticism even within the government’s ranks.

In the end, though, 50 MPs in the House’s reduced summer session voted in favor of the collection of reforms and 47 against.