Louka Katseli struck off from PASOK

One “no” brought on the expulsion of Louka Katseli from the PASOK PG. The MP had declared from the start that rejecting article 37 is a "matter of principle" for her and even during her last institutional stance in parliament she asked the government to withdraw it for 2 months in order to have a dialogue between the Troika and the social partners.

But it seems that a compromise could not be found at the last meeting with Venizelos and George Koutroumanis either, leading her to vote against the controversial article, which inhibits sectoral contracts and enhances corporate ones. So, minutes after her final decision, parliament chairman Philippos Petsalnikos received a letter from PM George Papandreou, according to which "Mrs. Luka Katseli is struck off from the PASOK parliamentary group."

"Matters of principle and consistency are not negotiable for me," said Katseli, explaining her final decision to vote against Article 37.

"I would like to say that I was and still am PASOK and I have supported the government with all my powers. I cannot consent to the deconstruction of institutions that guarantee employment rights and are pillars of democracy and of the welfare state."

Now, the ruling party is left with 153 MPs, from 160 in the beginning. So far Panagiotis Kouroumplis, John Dimaras, Sofia Sakorafa, Vassilis Oikonomou, George Lianos and Vangelis Papachristos have become independent while three more, George Floridis, Hector Nasiokas and Thomas Robopoulos, resigned from office and were replaced.

The multi-bill articles that were up for a vote were passed by the 153 PASOK members, voted against by 145 and an extra 2, while Elsa Papadimitriou and Elena Rapti were absent.

Earlier on Thursday, Vasso Papandreou gave a speech that seems to reflect the opinion of the entire PASOK PG, urging the government to make immediate decisions, because "society is in despair."  

She explained that she had decided to vote against article 37 "as a symbolic gesture that shows that besides the Troika, the Greek parliamentarians can also draw red lines", but changed her mind after meeting with the PM.

She said "the prime minister assured me that even if one article does not pass we will not get the 6th tranche" and visibly moved, added: "I ​​cannot assume this responsibility. I am voting and my conscience is troubled. I am voting and this is my last time."

Furthermore, Vasso Papandreou leveled harsh criticism against the "passive" policy of the current government and stressed that "we are staggering socially and politically", noting all her dramatic appeals ​​since 2009 that were never heard.

Finally, she said "we will be voting for a bill of harsh austerity that sends the check to the usual suspects, exacerbates the recession and dismantles the labor market. The Europe of solidarity collapses. The failure of the objectives of the memorandum, in addition to our own faults, was expected. One can see this in Portugal and Ireland as well. Greece will become the black sheep because nobody in Europe wants the haircut of the debt."