Politics of Greece 12112 222807996 2008-07-01T05:45:00Z Maejius 1328374 /* Executive branch */ {{Politics of Greece}} The '''Politics of Greece''' takes place in a large [[parliamentary system|parliamentary]] [[representative democracy|representative democratic]] [[republic]], whereby the [[Prime Minister of Greece]] is the [[head of government]], and of a [[multi-party system]]. [[Legislative power]] is vested in both the [[government]] and the [[Hellenic Parliament]]. Since the restoration of democracy the party system is dominated by the liberal-conservative [[New Democracy (Greece)|New Democracy]] (''Νέα Δημοκρατία - Nea Dimokratia'') and the socialist [[Panhellenic Socialist Movement]] (''Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα - Panellinio Sosialistiko Kinima''). The [[Judiciary]] is independent of the executive and the legislature. The 1975 [[constitution]], which describes [[Greece]] as a "[[president]]ial [[parliament]]ary [[republic]]," includes extensive specific guarantees of [[civil liberties]] and vests the powers of the [[head of state]] in a president elected by parliament. The Greek governmental structure is similar to that found in many Western [[democracy|democracies]], and has been described as a compromise between the [[France|French]] and [[Germany|German]] models. The prime minister and [[cabinet]] play the central role in the political process, while the president performs some executive and legislative functions in addition to ceremonial duties. == Executive branch == {{office-table}} |[[list of Presidents of Greece|President]] |[[Karolos Papoulias]] |[[Panhellenic Socialist Movement]] |[[March 12]] [[2005]] |- |[[list of Prime Ministers of Greece|Prime Minister]] |[[Kostas Karamanlis]] |[[New Democracy (Greece)|New Democracy]] |[[March 10]] [[2004]] |} The [[Cabinet of Greece]] includes the heads of all executive ministries, appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister. The President of the Republic is elected by the Parliament for a five-year term (election last held [[March 7]] [[2005]]), and a maximum of two terms in office. When a presidential term expires, Parliament votes to elect the new President. In the first two votes, a ⅔ majority (200 votes) is necessary. The third and final vote requires a 3/5 (180 votes) majority. If the third vote is fruitless, Parliament is dissolved and elections are proclaimed by the outgoing President within the next 30 days. In the new Parliament, the election for President is repeated immediately with a 3/5 majority required for the initial vote, an absolute majority for the second one (151 votes) and a simple majority for the third and final one. The system is so designed as to promote consensus Presidential candidates among the main political parties. The president has the power to declare war, to grant pardon and to conclude agreements of peace, alliance, and participation in international organizations; upon the request of the government a simple parliamentary majority is required to ratify such actions, agreements, or treaties. An absolute or a three-fifths majority is required in exceptional cases (for example, the accession into the EU needed a 3/5 majority). The president can also exercise certain emergency powers, which must be countersigned by the appropriate cabinet minister. Changes to the constitution in 1986 limited the president's political powers. As a result, the president may not dissolve parliament, dismiss the government, suspend certain articles of the constitution, issue a proclamation or declare a state of siege without countersigning by the prime minister or the appropriate cabinet minister. To call a referendum, he must obtain approval from parliament. The prime minister is elected by the people and he or she is usually the leader of the party controlling the absolute majority of Parliament members. According to the Constitution, the prime minister safeguards the unity of the government and directs its activities. He or she is the most powerful person of the Greek political system and he or she recommendates to the President the appointment or the dismissal of the ministers.. Greek parliamentary politics hinge upon the principle of the "{{lang|el|''dedilomeni''}}", the "declared confidence" of Parliament to the Prime Minister and his/her administration. This means that the President of the Republic is bound to appoint as Prime Minister a person who will be approved by a majority of the Parliament's members (i.e. 151 votes). With the current electoral system, it is the leader of the party gaining a plurality of the votes in the Parliamentary elections who gets appointed Prime Minister. An administration may, at any time, seek a "vote of confidence"; conversely, a number of Members of Parliament may ask that a "vote of reproach" be taken. Both are rare occurrences with usually predictable outcomes as voting outside the party line happens very seldom. On [[March 7]], [[2004]], [[Kostas Karamanlis]], president of the [[New Democracy (Greece)|New Democracy]] party and nephew of the late [[Constantine Karamanlis]], was elected as the new [[Prime Minister of Greece]], thus marking his party's first electoral victory in nearly 11 years. Karamanlis took over Government from [[Kostas Simitis]], who had been in office since January 1996. ==Legislative branch== Greece elects a [[legislature]] by universal suffrage of all citizens over the age of 18. The '''[[Parliament of Greece|Greek Parliament]]''' (''Vouli ton Ellinon'') has 300 members, elected for a four-year term by a system of reinforced [[proportional representation]] in 48 multi-seat [[constituency|constituencies]], 8 single-seat [[constituency|constituencies]] and a single nationwide list. 288 of the 300 seats are determined by constituecy voting, and voters may select the candidate or candidates of their choice by marking their name on the party ballot. The remaining 12 seats are filled from nationwide party lists on a top-down basis and based on the proportion of the total vote each party received. Greece uses a complex reinforced proportional representation electoral system which discourages splinter parties and makes a parliamentary majority possible even if the leading party falls short of a majority of the popular vote. Under the current electoral law, any single party must receive at least a 3% nationwide vote tally in order to elect Members of Parliament (the so-called "3% threshold"). The law in its current form favors the [[first past the post]] party to achieve an absolute (151 parliamentary seats) majority, provided it receives a 41%+ nationwide vote. This is touted to enhance governmental stability. The electoral law can be changed by simple parliamentary majority, but a law so changed only becomes enforced in the election following the upcoming one, unless it is voted by the [[Parliament of Greece|Greek Parliament]] with a majority of ⅔ of the total number of the deputies. ==Political parties and leaders== {{elect|List of political parties in Greece|Elections in Greece}} {{main|Greek legislative election, 2007}} {{Greek legislative election, 2007}} ==Judicial branch== {{main|Judicial system of Greece}} In Greece the judicial branch is divided into civil and administrative courts. Civil courts judge civil and penal cases, whereas administrative courts judge administrative cases, namely disputes between the citizens and the State. The judicial system of Greece comprises three Supreme Courts: the [[Court of Cassation (Greece)|Court of Cassation]] (Άρειος Πάγος), the [[Council of State (Greece)|Council of State]] (Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας) and the [[Chamber of Accounts (Greece)|Chamber of Accounts]] (Ελεγκτικό Συνέδριο). These high courts are composed of professional judges, graduates of the National School of Judges. The way the judges are gradually promoted, until they become members of the Supreme Courts, is defined by the Constitution and the existing laws. The presidents and the vice-presidents of the three Supreme Courts are chosen by the [[Cabinet of Greece]] among the serving members of each of the Supreme Courts. The [[Court of Cassation (Greece)|Court of Cassation]] is the supreme civil and penal court, whereas the [[Council of State (Greece)|Council of State]] is the supreme administrative court. The [[Chamber of Accounts (Greece)|Chamber of Accounts]] has an [[exclusive jurisdiction]] over certain administrative areas (for example it judges disputes arising from the legislation regulating the pensions of civil servants) and its decisions are irrevocable. This means that they are not judged at second instance by the [[Council of State (Greece)|Council of State]]. <br> Sometimes, the Supreme Courts take contradictory decisions or they judge differently the constitutionality of a legal provision. These disputes are resolved by the [[Supreme Special Court (Greece)|Supreme Special Court]], whose the composition and jurisdiction is regulated by the Constitution (article 100). As its name reveals, this court is not permanent and it sits, when a special case belonging to its jurisdiction arises. When the [[Supreme Special Court (Greece)|Supreme Special Court]] sits, it comprises eleven members: the Presidents of the three Supreme Courts, four members of the [[Court of Cassation (Greece)|Court of Cassation]] and four members of the [[Council of State (Greece)|Council of State]]. When it judges the constitutionality of a law or resolves the disputes between Supreme Courts, its composition comprises two more members: two professors of the Law Schools of Greece. The [[Supreme Special Court (Greece)|Supreme Special Court]] is the only court which can declare an unconstitutional legal provision as "powerless" (something like "null and void"), while the three Supreme Courts can only declare an unconstitutional legal provision as "inapplicable". The [[Supreme Special Court (Greece)|Supreme Special Court]] is also the Supreme Electoral Court, judging pleas against the legality of the legislative elections. == Administrative divisions == Greece is divided in [[Peripheries of Greece|13 peripheries]], further divided into [[Prefectures of Greece|51 prefectures]], the "''Nomoi''". The prefectures are each headed by a prefect (the "''Nomarch''"), who is elected by direct popular vote. The thirteen regional administrative districts ([[Peripheries of Greece|peripheries]]), each including a number of prefectures are headed by a regional governor (the "''Peripheriarch''"), appointed by the Minister of the Interior. In northern Greece and in greater [[Athens]], three areas have an additional administrative position between the nomarch and peripheriarch. This official, known as the Chair of the prefectural local authorities or "superprefect" (the "''Hypernomarch''"), is elected by direct popular vote together with the nomarchs she or he supervises. Although municipalities and villages have elected officials, they do not have an adequate independent revenue base and must depend on the central government budget for a large part of their financial needs. Consequently they are subject to numerous central government controls. This also leads to extremely low municipal taxes (usually around 0.2% or less). Greece also includes one autonomous region, the [[monastery|Monastic]] Community of the Holy Mountain, [[Mount Athos]]. ==International organization participation== Greece is member of the Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, [[Council of Europe|CE]], CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, [[European Union|EU]], FAO, G- 6, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, [[International Criminal Court|ICC]], [[International Chamber of Commerce|ICC]], ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, [[Interpol]], IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), [[NATO]], NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), [[OECD]], OPCW, OSCE, PCA, [[Southeast European Cooperative Initiative|SECI]], [[UN]], UNCTAD, [[UNESCO]], UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNOMIG, UPU, [[World Customs Organization|WCO]], [[WEU]], WFTU, [[World Health Organization|WHO]], WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, [[Zangger Committee]] ==Politicians of Greece== * [[Alekos Alavanos]] * [[Dimitris Avramopoulos]] * [[Dora Bakoyannis]] * [[Maria Damanaki]] * [[Manolis Glezos]] * [[Konstantinos Karamanlis]] * [[Konstantinos Mitsotakis]] * [[Costas Karamanlis]] * [[Georgios Karatzaferis]] * [[Nikos Konstantopoulos]] * [[Vassilis Leventis]] * [[Andreas Papandreou]] * [[George Papandreou, junior]] * [[George Papandreou, senior]] * [[Aleka Papariga]] * [[Karolos Papoulias]] * [[Antonis Samaras]] * [[Costas Simitis]] * [[Costis Stephanopoulos]] * [[Dimitris Tsovolas]] * [[Hatzigakis Sotirios]] == Political issues== === Education === Under the Greek constitution,<ref name="GreekConstitution-Education-General"> [http://www.hri.org/docs/syntagma/artcl25.html#A16 Article 16 of the Constitution of Greece].</ref> education is the responsibility of the state. Most Greeks attend public primary and secondary schools. There are a few private schools, which must meet the standard curriculum of and are supervised by the Ministry of Education. The Ministry of Education oversees and directs every aspect of the public education process at all levels, including hiring all teachers and professors and producing all required textbooks. A recent issue concerning education in Greece is the institutionalisation of private [[universities]]. According to the constitution<ref name="GreekConstitution-Education-Universities"> ibid, Section 5: "Education at university level shall be provided exclusively by institutions which are fully self-governed public law legal persons".</ref> only state-run universities operate on the land. However in the recent years many foreign private universities have established branches in Greece, offering [[Bachelor's]] level degrees, therefore creating a legal contradiction between the Greek constitution and the EU laws allowing foreign companies to operate anywhere in the Union. Additionally, every year, tens of thousands of Greek students were not accepted to the state-run University system, become "educational immigrants" to other countries' Higher Education institutions, where they move to study. This has created a chronic problem for Greece, in terms of loss of capital as well as human resources, since many of those students opt to seek employment in the countries they studied, after completing their studies. It is characteristic that in 2006, Greece, with 11.5 million inhabitants, was fourth in the world in terms of student export in absolute numbers, with 60,000 students abroad, while the first country in this regard, People's Republic of China of over 1,3 billion inhabitants, had 100,000 students abroad. In terms of students abroad as a percent of the general population, Greece is by far the leading country, with 5,250 students per million, compared to second Malaysia's 1,780 students per million inhabitants. Citing these problems as a result of the state's monopoly on Higher Education, [[New Democracy (Greece)|New Democracy]] committed to amending the constitution, in order to allow private universities to operate in Greece on a non-profit basis. This proposal was rejected by then-ruling [[Panhellenic Socialist Movement|PASOK]] in the late nineties, and thus could not muster the support necessary to be put to vote on the constitutional amendment of 2001. However, PASOK has since changed its stance, and now also supports a constitutional provision for the creation of private Universities on a non-profit basis. This proposal continues to encounter the fierce opposition of the Left parties and part of the academic community, both professors and students. At the outset of 2006, [[prime minister]] [[Kostas Karamanlis]] announced the initiative of his government for a new amendment of the [[Constitution of Greece|Constitution]]. According to his assertion one of the main issues of this amendment (the second within less than 10 years) is going to be the creation of "non-state owned" universities. === Religion === The [[Church of Greece|Greek Orthodox Church]] is under the protection of the State, which pays the clergy's salaries, and [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christianity]] is the "''prevailing''" religion of Greece according to the Constitution. The Greek Orthodox Church is self-governing but under the spiritual guidance of the Ecumenical Patriarch in [[Constantinople]]. About 98% of Greek citizens are nominal followers of the Orthodox Church. Freedom of religious beliefs is guaranteed by the Constitution, but "[[proselytism]]" is officially illegal. According to the most recent Eurostat "Eurobarometer" poll, in 2005,<ref name="Eurostat poll on the social and religious beliefs of Europeans"> Eurobarometer, http://europa.eu.int/comm/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_225_report_en.pdf</ref> 81% of Greek citizens responded that "they believe there is a God", whereas 16% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and only 3% that "they do not believe there is a God, spirit, nor life force". This would make Greece one of the most religious countries in the European Union of 25 members, after Malta and Cyprus. The [[Muslim]] minority, concentrated in [[Thrace]], was given legal status by provisions of the [[Treaty of Lausanne]] in 1923 and is Greece's only officially recognized religious minority. There are small [[Roman Catholic]] communities on some of the [[Cyclades]], remnants of the long [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] rule over the islands. The recent influx of (mostly illegal) immigrants from Eastern Europe and the Third World has an expectedly varied multi-religious profile ([[Roman Catholic]], [[Muslim]], [[Hindu]] etc). During the 2001 constitutional amendment, complete separation of church and state was proposed, but the two major parties, [[ND]] and [[PASOK]], decided not to open this controversial matter, which clashes with both the population and the clergy. For example, numerous protests occurred over the removal of the Religious Denomination entry from the National ID card in 2000. Outside the Orthodox majority, the Jewish telegraphic Agency claims that Greece had and still has a serious problem of religious freedom.<ref name="Jewish Telegraphic Agency"> [http://www.highbeam.com/library/doc0.asp?docid=1P1:2238149&dtype=0~0&dinst=&author=Jean%20Cohen&title=GREEK%20PARLIAMENT%20REJECTS%20PLAN%20TO%20END%20RELIGION%20LISTING%20ON%20I.D.&date=04/09/1993&refid=ency_botnm Jewish Telegraphic Agency: GREEK PARLIAMENT REJECTS PLAN TO END RELIGION LISTING ON I.D.. 04-09-1993] </ref><ref name="Jerusalem Post"> [http://www.highbeam.com/library/doc0.asp?docid=1P1:42775936&dtype=0~0&dinst=&author=PATRICK%20QUINN%2C%20AP&title=Greek%20archbishop%20blames%20Jews%20in%20ID%20dispute&date=03/16/2001&refid=ency_botnm Jewish Telegraphic Agency Greek archbishop blames Jews in ID dispute 03-16-2001] </ref> === Media === In comparative [[Reporters Without Borders|NGO studies]] , Greece ranks among the highest in press freedom worldwide. The Greek [[Mass media|media]], collectively, is a very influential institution &mdash; usually aggressive, sensationalist. As with many countries, most of the media are owned by businessmen with commercial interests in other sectors of the economy. There are often accusations of newspapers, magazines, and radio and TV channels being used to promote their commercial enterprises as well as to seek political influence. In 1994, the [[Minister for the Press and the Media (Greece)|Ministry of Press and Media]] was established to deal with media and communication issues. [[Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi|ERT S.A.]], a public corporation supervised by the Minister of Press, operates three national television channels and five national radio channels. The Minister of Press also serves as the primary government spokesperson. The Secretary General of Press and Information prepares the semi-official Athens News Agency (ANA) Bulletin. Along with [[Associated Press|AP]] and [[Reuters]], this is a primary source of information for the Greek press. The Ministry of Press and Information also issues the semi-official Macedonian News Agency (MPE) Bulletin, which is distributed throughout the Balkan region. For international news, [[CNN]] is a particular influence in the Greek market; the major TV channels often use it as a source. State and private TV stations also use [[European Broadcasting Union|Eurovision]] and [[Visnews]] as sources. While few papers and stations have overseas correspondents, those few correspondents abroad can be very influential. In 1988, a new law provided the legal framework for the establishment of private radio stations and, in 1989, private TV stations. According to the law, supervision of radio and television is exercised by the National Radio and Television Council. In practice, however, official licensing has been delayed for many years. Because of this, there has been a proliferation of private radio and TV stations, as well as European satellite channels, including [[Euronews]]. More than 1,000 radio stations were operating before March 2002, when the government implemented plans to reallocate TV frequencies and issue licenses as authorized by the 1993 Media Law, effectively reducing this number. === Military Service === {{main|Conscription in Greece}} 12 months for all males of 18 years of age; Compulsory with fines and imprisonment if denied, but neither fine nor imprisonment has been imposed since 1994, where the last warrant against a draft-dodger was issued. Members of families with 3 children serve a reduced time of 9 months. Military service can also be substituted with a longer public service, which by the standards of Amnesty International, ought to be considered punitive as it is twice as long as the regular tour of duty. Limited steps have been taken to turn the Greek military into a semi-professional army in the last years, leading to the gradual reduction of the service from 18 to 12 months and the inclusion of a greater number of professional military personnel in most vertices of the force. Recent developments, though, within the anti-conscription movement in Greece, such as the high{{Fact|date=June 2007}} death rate from suicides during service and work-related accidents, such as the [[Manitsa]] incident, combined with a high rate of draft-dodging, have advanced the idea that mandatory coscription should be abolished and an all-professional/all-volunteer army should be put in place.{{Fact|date=June 2007}} === Military spending === Greece directs approximately 4.3% of its [[GDP]] <!--This most probably refers to direct military spending. "Indirect" was mentioned. Please clarify this. --> to military expenditures, the 2nd highest percentage in Europe (behind [[Russia]] and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia).<ref name="mil_percent_gdp">[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2034rank.html Military Spending - Rank Order,Military expenditure] (2005 figures) </ref> In absolute numbers the Greek military budget ranked 28th in the world in 2005. By the same measure, Greek military budget ranked 6th in the [[Mediterranean]] basin (behind [[France]], [[Italy]], [[Turkey]], [[Israel]] and [[Spain]]) and 2nd (behind Turkey) in its immediate vicinity, the [[Balkans]].<ref name="mil_spend_rank"> All rankings according to the [http://www.armscontrolcenter.org/archives/002244.php World ranking of military budgets]</ref> It must be noted that Greek arms purchasing is among the highest in the world: Greece ranked 3rd in the world in 2004.<ref name="mil_imports"> [http://www.in.gr/news/article.asp?lngEntityID=630226 Article from in.gr (08/06/05)] (in Greek)</ref> These figures are explained<ref name="mil_explanation_sources"> [http://fas.org/asmp/profiles/greece.htm#Arms%20Sales%20Tables US Arms Clients Profiles - Greece] </ref> in the light of the [[arms race]] between Greece and Turkey with key issues being the [[Cyprus dispute]] and disagreement over [[sovereignty]] of certain islets of the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]]. For more information see [[Greco-Turkish relations]]. Reversly, the foreign relations of Greece as well as many internal policy decisions are largely affected by its arms purchases. The [[United States]], being the major arms seller to Greece has been known to actively intervene in military spending decisions made by the Greek government.<ref name="mil_explanation_sources2"> ibid: ''The Greek publication Elevtherotipia reported that former Ambassador Nicholas Burns had taken part in attempting to dissuade Greek officials from purchasing the Eurofighter in favor of a U.S. military aircraft.'' </ref> The US has at times actively stepped in to help avoid large scale crisis, as in the case of the [[Imia-Kardak crisis]]. The reduction of military spending has long been an issue in Greek politics. The incumbent [[Prime minister of Greece|prime minister]], [[Kostas Karamanlis]] has proposed a reduction to military spending through a "Defence Eurozone",<ref name="mil_Karam_expo"> [http://www.hri.org/news/greek/eragr/2003/03-09-13_1.eragr.htmlThe Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in Greek, 03-09-13] </ref> referring to the [[European Security and Defence Policy]]. The previous [[PASOK]] administration, also planned on reducing military spending<ref name="mil_pasok_2001">[http://www.hri.org/news/grpapers/typos/2001/01-11-15.typos.html Athens News Agency: Press Review in Greek, 01-11-15]</ref> prior to its failure to be re-elected in 2004, while [[PASOK]] politicians usually refer to money saved from reducing military spending as a "peace dividend" ("μέρισμα ειρήνης").<ref name="mil_pasok_div"> [http://www.mnec.gr/christ_int_211203.aspx Speech of PASOK former finance minister Nikos Christodoulakis] </ref> The parties of the [[Left wing politics|Left]], [[KKE]] and [[Synaspismos]], have been vocal in condemning military spending. Regarding the purchase of 30 [[F-16]] and 333 [[Leopard tank]]s in 2005, both parties criticized the [[New Democracy (Greece)|New Democracy]] administration for spending money on weapons while doing nothing to relieve the lower classes and said that high military spending "does not correspond to the real needs of the country but is carried out according to [[NATO]] planning and to serve weapon manufacturers and the countries that host them".<ref name="mil_left"> [http://www.hri.org/news/europe/bbc/2005/05-07-19.bbc.html HR-NET index of BBC broadcasts in Greek, 05-07-19 News]</ref> ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==External links== *[http://ekloges.ypes.gr/en/ Greek election results], via the Greek Ministry of Internal Affairs *[http://www.ekloges.gr/ ekloges.gr] Greek Elections *[http://www.primeminister.gr Official website of the Prime Minister of Greece] *[http://news.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_ell_1_30/03/2006_179002 Greece the first country in the globe in terms of student export] *[http://www.politicsgr.com Greek Politics Community Forums] *[http://www.noitikiantistasis.com/wordpress Greek news website covering a wide range of topics, focusing on the effect of globalization on Greece and its national problems] {{Greece topics}} {{Politics of Europe}} {{NATO}} [[Category:Politics of Greece| ]] [[es:Política de Grecia]] [[fr:Politique de la Grèce]] [[pl:Ustrój polityczny Grecji]] [[pt:Política da Grécia]] [[sv:Grekisk politik]]