Greek government mulling larger majority vote on name agreement


 Close associates of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras are contemplating on a larger majority vote of 180 MPs instead of a simple majority of 151 regarding the possible name agreement in the parliament, MIA reports from Athens citing Greek media.

“If there is an agreement on the FYROM name, the PM’s associates are discussing to put this agreement for a parliament vote, not by simple majority but a larger majority of 180 MPs, supporting the theory that this is an international agreement,” reads web portal In.

Eurotoday provides a similar analysis, saying there is no constitutional provision that obliges PM Tsipras to set the bar at 180 MPs.

“However, his close aide says the settlement of a national issue, which has not been solved for 25 years, maybe does not allow for a simple majority,” says Eurotoday.

The Greek parliament is comprised of 300 seats, of which 154 are held by the government majority comprised of Syriza and Independent Greeks. If the threshold for the adoption of the possible agreement is upped, its approval is uncertain. Independent Greeks and the Union of Centrists have said they oppose a name including term ‘Macedonia’, while New Democracy, Potami and the Democratic Alignment have still not revealed their stance regarding the parliament vote.