Eight New Democracy Members of Parliament have sent a set of questions to the Ministers of Labor and Health, raising questions about tensions within the party.
The questions are three challenges regarding proposed pharmaceutical drug co-payment exemptions– particularly about how many pensioners would or could qualify for such exemptions and the cost to the National Health Service Providers’ Agency. Essentially, the MPs have requested that drug co-payment exemptions be extended to more pensioners.
However, the questions have led to speculation regarding growing disagreement within the governing New Democracy, as in previous weeks a different set of 11 MPs also posed a series of challenges.
The 11, sometimes even referred to as the “11 blue rebels” in media coverage, had submitted a set of questions to the Minister of Finance, Kostis Hatzidakis in mid September. The questions focused on the lack of protection for borrowers, guarantors, and small enterprises whose loans are managed by foreign funds. They asked the minister for improved protections, particularly for borrowers at risk of losing their homes. Though the ministers insisted they were not opposing the party dogma, rather transferring the concerns of their constituents. Yet these questions were taken by some as open critique, and led to debate and comment from opposition parties on the parliament floor, who argued that they had made similar points previously.
One of these eleven blue MPs was Marios Salmas, who was shortly thereafter expelled from the New Democracy’s Parliamentary group, after he harshly criticized a Ministry of Culture concession tender for canteens at museums as a choice that he argued basically handed a monopoly to one company.
Thus the questions about pharmaceutical drug payments filed in early October come in a context of apparent inter-party tensions. All eight of the MPs who signed the drug copay questions also either voted against or abstained from voting in the passing of marriage equality in February, against party lines. Though the questions have caused a bit of a stir in the media, one member of the eight, speaking in TO VIMA, clarified that the group are not opposing the government, they are simply bringing specific citizens’ problems to the attention of the ministers.
