A disagreement within Greece’s governing party over a proposed constitutional amendment on presidential terms drew attention Tuesday during parliamentary discussions on constitutional revision.
Former Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis expressed reservations about a proposal by the ruling New Democracy party to replace the current system with a single six-year presidential term. She said Article 30 of the Constitution should remain unchanged, arguing that the provision allowing two terms has proven useful in practice.
Under the current Constitution, the president is elected by Parliament for a five-year term and may be reelected once. The proposal, presented by party rapporteur Evripidis Stylianidis and defended by other majority lawmakers, would establish “a single six-year term for the President of the Republic.” Opposition parties opposed the change.
PASOK lawmaker Panagiotis Doudonis questioned whether supporters of the amendment viewed the second presidential terms of Kostis Stephanopoulos, Karolos Papoulias and Konstantinos Karamanlis as unsuccessful.
Opposition parties also renewed criticism of the government’s selection of former party official Konstantinos Tassoulas for the presidency without seeking broader consensus. Other New Democracy proposals, including provisions on parliamentary self-dissolution and referendum procedures, also faced opposition criticism.
