OPPOSITION TABLES NO CONFIDENCE MOTION AGAINST

C O N F I D E N T I A L ATHENS 000452

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/01/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV SOCI ECON MK GR
SUBJECT: OPPOSITION TABLES NO CONFIDENCE MOTION AGAINST
KARAMANLIS GOVERNMENT

REF: ATHENS 441

Classified By: Ambassador Daniel V. Speckhard for 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (U) Main opposition PASOK leader George Papandreou
tabled a motion of no confidence against the Karamanlis
administration March 26, following a debate punctuated by
sharp exchanges between government and opposition on the
issue of social security reform. Although it is unlikely
PASOK will muster the 151 votes in a 300-seat house it
requires to pass the motion (Note: the Government has a
151-seat majority in the Parliament and a de facto 152-seat
majority with the one "independent," a former ruling party
MP, consistently voting with the Government. End Note),
this motion stops the clock for the final vote on the social
security reform bill, which had been expected to take place
the evening on March 26 (reftel). President of Parliament
Sioufas has declared a three-day debate on the motion of no
confidence, as provided by the parliamentary rules of
procedure, to conclude on March 28 with a roll call vote on
the motion.


2. (U) Motions of no confidence are a rarity in Greece; most
local pundits immediately began to cast PASOK's move as an
attempt to show leadership on social security reform, lest
left coalition SYRIZA party's calls for a referendum on the
social security reform bill further erode PASOK's public
standing on this issue. PASOK's leadership remains unnerved
by public opinion polls showing unprecedented defections from
PASOK to SYRIZA. Meanwhile, SYRIZA parliamentary caucus
leader Alekos Alavanos was scheduled to pay a visit to
President Papoulias late on the morning of March 26 to
highlight SYRIZA,s opposition to the pension reform bill,
and SYRIZA leaders have begun collecting signatures for a
petition calling for a referendum.

3. (C) Comment: For the next three days, the Parliament's
only agenda is the no confidence motion. Given the proximity
of the NATO Summit, and our ongoing efforts to encourage
maximum flexibility from the Government on the Macedonia name
issue, the timing could not be worse. Although PASOK's
motion was driven by domestic politics and popular discontent
with the Government's social security reform package, the
pending vote of no confidence will not embolden the
overnment to be more flexible or creative on the Macedonia
name issue, at least through the Friday night vote of
confidence. The final vote on social security reform is now
likely to be pushed back to Monday, March 30 -- which will
give unions and the opposition time to organize additional
strikes and public protests against the Government. End
Comment.
SPECKHARD