Greece

Politics

Main article: Politics of Greece

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The 1975 constitution includes extensive specific guarantees of civil liberties and vests the powers of the head of state in an indirectly-elected president, who is advised by the Council of the Republic on an ad hoc basis. The Council of the Republic consists of the incumbent Prime Minister, the leaders of all parliamentary parties, and all former Prime Ministers that have received a parliamentary vote of confidence (see "dedilomeni" below) at least once. The Council's advice is not binding.

Related Topics:
1975 - Constitution - Head of state

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The prime minister and cabinet play the central role in the political process, while the president performs some governmental functions, in addition to ceremonial duties. The parliament elects the president for a five-year term and can be re-elected once.

Related Topics:
Prime minister - Cabinet

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Greeks elect the 300 members of the country's unicameral parliament (the Vouli ton Ellinon) by secret ballot for a maximum of four years, but elections can occur at more frequent intervals. Greece uses a complex reinforced proportional representation electoral system which discourages splinter parties and ensures that the party which leads in the national vote will win a majority of seats. A party must receive 3% of the total national vote to gain representation.

Related Topics:
Unicameral - Vouli ton Ellinon - Proportional representation

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Greek parliamentary politics hinge upon the principle of the "dedilomeni", the "declared confidence" of Parliament to the Prime Minister and his/her administration. This is achieved if Parliament approves a new administration's political platform by a majority "plus one" (i.e. 151 votes), and is renewed yearly by voting on the new budget. An administration may label any particular parliamentary vote a "vote of confidence", and conversely the opposition may designate any vote as a "vote of reproach". Both are rare occurrences with usually predictable outcomes as voting outside the party line happens very seldom.

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For a list of Greek political parties, see List of political parties in Greece.

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