K. Mitsotakis in the Parliament on the higher education bill – The political thermometer is on the rise

By Dimitris Gatsiou

Despite the fact that the prime minister… cut off, in the most categorical way, any possibility of resorting to early polls, the confrontation with all the political matter remains high. And it is expected to be held there today as well, against the background of the Plenary Session of the Parliament and the Ministry of Education’s bill on higher education. A debate, in which Mr. Mitsotakis and the leaders of the opposition parties will take the floor, in the shadow of the vulgar attack launched on the responsible minister, Niki Kerameos, by the SYRIZA member of parliament, Christoforos Bernardakis, and caused the explosion of the Nea of Democracy, as well as government and party officials of Piraeus Street.

The SYRIZA member of parliament, in a video he posted on the Tik Tok platform and, in the face of the uproar that broke out, hastened to withdraw aron-aron, characterized Ms. Kerameos as “Pispirigou of education”, with the minister herself speaking of an act of obscenity , toxic polarization, division. For attempted character assassination and misogyny. “Obviously, Mr. Bernardakis believed that by comparing the Minister of Education to a defendant, he could win a few minutes of opposition publicity. And indeed, he won it, but he could not stand it. Highlighting the vulgarity emitted not only by him, but and from his party, caused such intense and multifaceted reactions that he was finally forced to withdraw the video he uploaded and apologize to Niki Kerameos”, New Democracy officials comment. However, what causes a sensation in the government and Piraeus street actors is the fact that neither the president of SYRIZA, Alexis Tsipras, nor Koumoundourou disapproved of the despicable attack of Christoforos Bernardakis. “Of course, this is not an isolated phenomenon. Toxicity and vulgarity were and are basic elements of SYRIZA. This is how it proceeded and this is how it will proceed towards the elections”, they comment.

Deep dividing lines

The discussion of the higher education bill, which has been characterized by the prime minister as another strong step for the reformist brand of the government, is expected to be an opportunity for Mr. Mitsotakis, in order to highlight the deep dividing lines between New Democracy and the official opposition party. He, during his intervention in the Plenary, will develop the basic concepts that pervade the bill, such as:

– Strengthening the autonomy, flexibility and efficiency of Greek universities.

– The decentralization of responsibilities from the ministry to the universities themselves.

– Interdisciplinarity, the mobility of students and researchers, the development of partnerships, extroversion and the production of knowledge, research and innovation that are diffused for the benefit of society.

– Adaptation to European and international developments.

– The resolution of chronic issues and the codification of existing legislation.

What is considered certain, however, is that the whole discussion will bring to the fore the political dilemmas that Mr. Mitsotakis has raised and to which citizens will be asked to answer when the time comes for the national ballot. Dilemmas such as “progress or maintain”. “Reforms or Stagnation”. “Create or pin”. “Result or Inaction”.