February 17, 2025

Athens News

News in English from Greece

Mitsotakis nominates his party's MP to become Greece's next president


Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced his nomination on Wednesday morning Konstantinos Tasoulas, as a government candidate for the presidency Hellenic Republic.

This first case, when the prime minister nominates a sitting MP for the presidency. The Prime Minister's proposal does not prevent other political parties from nominating their candidates to participate in the elections. Already SYRIZA And PASOK stated that they did not agree with the choice of prime minister and would nominate their own candidates.

Voting procedure includes up to four rounds: the first and second rounds require 200 votesfor the third – 180and for the fourth – 151 votes (absolute majority in the 300-seat parliament).

Analysts predict Tasoulas will have to wait until the fourth round unless other parties field surprise candidates. Ruling party New Democracy has 157 places in parliament.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that he had already notified Katerina Sakellaropoulou about your decision. According to him, she “fulfilled its mission with a sense of responsibility.”

Howeveras the Prime Minister noted, in an unstable international situation, the country needs a president with long experience in public life and clear political guidelines. Anyway Katerina Sakellaropoulou left a positive mark on the history of the country. “As Prime Minister and as an ordinary citizen, I honor her and want to thank her from the bottom of my heart,” Mitsotakis added.

Konstantinos Tasoulas is an active supporter of support for Ukraine. He approved the performance Vladimir Zelensky and two fighters from the nationalist Azov battalion in front of parliament in April 2022. After their speech, Thasoulas spoke in Greek: “Long live Ukraine, long live freedom.”

Mitsotakis called on all parties in parliament to support Tasoulas' candidacy. “This will be a choice of unity and prospects for Greece,” – he said. The Prime Minister also noted that, given the unifying mission of the Greek President, he believes that the head of state should be elected for one six-year term. He intends to propose this to Parliament during the upcoming constitutional review.

The parliamentary vote to elect the next President of the Republic is scheduled for January 25. A break is required between voting rounds. 5 days. Term of office of the incumbent president Katerini Sakellaropoulou ends March 25, 2025.

Tasoulas will first have to resign as speaker of parliament, after which MPs will elect a new speaker. It will also be the first test of the possibility of consensus among political forces in the Greek landscape.

It should be recalled that if parliament fails to elect a president, the country will be forced to hold early elections.



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