The no-confidence inquiry and SYRIZA’s “prosecutors”
The preliminary inquiry into Tempi is ready—parties have selected their MPs for participation. Who are the 27 MPs, and who has been “locked in” as President?
The names of the members of the preliminary inquiry committee of Parliament have been finalised. The committee is expected to investigate any potential responsibilities of the former Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister, Christos Triantopoulos. Following a request from PASOK, Mr. Triantopoulos is under investigation for his role in altering the accident site in the Tempi tragedy. It is worth noting that the preliminary inquiry committee has the powers of a first-instance prosecutor when conducting a preliminary examination.
Parties have selected their members for the Inquiry
The parties have selected their members for the committee, which will have a two-month period to complete the investigation. In total, 27 MPs will participate.
From New Democracy, which will hold the majority within the committee, the following 14 MPs have been selected:
- Asimina Skondra, Athanasios Zempilis, Alexandros Markogiannakis, Stavros Papasotiriou, Periklis Mantas, Gina Oikonomou, Neoklis Kritikos, Angeliki Delikari, Giorgos Vrettakos, Giorgos Kotsos, Konstantina Karampatsoli, Maria Kefala, Konstantinos Kefalogiannis, and Panagis Kappatos.
From PASOK, the selected MPs are Milena Apostolaki, Evangelia Liakouli, and Giorgos Moulkiotis.
Representing SYRIZA will be Giorgos Gavrilos and Vasilis Kokkalis, the latter of whom also participated in the Tempi tragedy Inquiry Committee, as did Milena Apostolaki.
From the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), the committee will include Maria Komninaka and Nikos Karathanassopoulos, both of whom also participated in the previous inquiry.
From Nea Aristera (New Left), Dimitris Tzanakopoulos has been selected. There is also a strong possibility that the leader of Plefsi Eleftherias (Course of Freedom) will seek to be a committee member.
From Elliniki Lysi (Greek Solution), Paraschos Papadakis will participate. Tasos Oikonomopoulos from NIKI and Giannis Kontis from the Spartiates (Spartans) will also be on the committee—both of whom are lawyers.
Independent MPs
Among the 22 independent MPs, interest in participating was particularly high. More than seven MPs expressed a desire to join, so a draw will take place to decide.
The committee President has been “locked in”
The preliminary inquiry committee is expected to convene in the coming days, possibly as early as Friday. On the first day of the session, the presidency will be elected. It appears locked in that Kefalonian MP Mr Kappatos will be the committee president.
Secret sessions of the preliminary inquiry
Finally, it should be noted that the committee’s sessions will be held in secret, behind closed doors. They will not be broadcast on television, as the committee has the powers of a first-instance prosecutor when conducting a preliminary examination.
Also read: Greek political leaders’ debate on Tempi accident in the Parliament
Source: To Vima
