Greece elects former parliament speaker as new president

Greece’s parliament elected its former speaker, Constantine Tassoulas, as the country’s president on Wednesday, approving the conservative government’s nominee for the largely ceremonial role.

The decision to nominate him has angered protesters who rallied outside parliament last month seeking justice over a deadly 2023 train crash. They say that on Tassoulas’ watch as parliamentary speaker, lawmakers failed to investigate any political responsibility over Greece’s worst rail disaster.

Two years later, a judicial probe is still in progress. Parliament is the only body that can investigate politicians under Greek law.

Tassoulas, 66, a lawyer and father of two who has been a lawmaker since 2000 and has previously served as Greece’s culture minister and deputy defence minister, won the backing of 160 lawmakers in Wednesday’s vote in the 300-seat parliament.

He will succeed Katerina Sakellaropoulou, Greece’s first female president, whose five-year term expires in March.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said last month that he chose Tassoulas on account of his political experience, widespread acceptance, and his “unifying spirit”.

Political analysts view Tassoulas’ nomination as aimed at strengthening Mitsotakis’ grip on power. His conservative New Democracy party has a small parliamentary majority with 156 seats but is under mounting pressure, opinion polls suggest.

Centre-left and leftist opposition parties had proposed other candidates and did not back Tassoulas’ nomination on Wednesday.

For decades, failure by parliament to elect a president in Greece could lead to a snap election. After a reform, following a decade-long financial crisis, the process can involve up to five voting rounds in parliament, with the threshold gradually falling to the majority of those present in the chamber.

Tassoulas will be sworn in as head of state on March 13.

Source: Reuters
--Agencies