Nikos Androulakis

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told parliament Wednesday that he does not recognize Nikos Pappas, the head of the leftist SYRIZA parliamentary group as a legitimate opponent due to his conviction by Greek justice and opted to skip his speech in parliament, during a political leaders' debate.

As we enter the heart of autumn, the political climate is gradually heating up, with political leaders holding their first confrontation in Parliament today.

The occasion is the discussion in Parliament regarding natural disasters.

Nikos Androulakis delivered a broad critique of the government in his first speech to Parliament following his recent re-election as PASOK leader, asserting that since its election in 2019, the conservative administration has severely undermined people's sense of security.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis launched a sharp attack against Nikos Pappas from the parliamentary podium, referencing Pappas’ absence during the session. Mitsotakis stated that this will be his approach moving forward, as he does not recognize Pappas as the representative of the main opposition, given that a special court convicted Pappas in a 13-0 ruling.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis attends Parliament to provide responses during a discussion on natural disasters, requested in mid-August by PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis, assessing the overall fire prevention period.

All eyes are on the Greek Parliament this Wednesday as a highly anticipated debate among political leaders, initiated by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, begins at 11 a.m. The formal aim of the debate is to brief opposition parties on the recent fire season and outline plans to strengthen Civil Protection.

Ten days after PASOK’s internal elections and with SYRIZA’s dissolution and PASOK solidifying its second-place position in all polls, today’s parliamentary debate on natural disasters takes on highly interesting political dimensions.

Following the recent elections, the socialist PASOK party is grappling with internal tensions after leader Nikos Androulakis announced new appointments within the party.

Haris Doukas has issued strong criticism against the leadership of PASOK regarding the party’s internal “reshuffle” and its parliamentary group. Through his associates, Doukas emphasized that the choices made by PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis “unfortunately do not convey a sense of unity and fail to promote the necessary collaborations and compromises.”

The socialist PASOK party on Monday announced a nine-member coordinating committee to join recently re-elected party leader Nikos Androulakis in key posts. 

The committee line-up includes Athens Mayor Haris Doukas, who was defeated in the runoff eight days ago, as well as Pavlos Yeroulanos, placed third in the first round, and long-serving party member Anna Diamantopoulou.