Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has defended his decision to shut down the country’s public ERT broadcaster and ignored please from his coalition partners to change his mind, setting up a possible showdown with them unless they back down, as they usually do.
The New Democracy Conservative leader heads an administration that includes his rivals, the PASOK Socialists and the tiny Democratic Left (DIMAR) because he needs their votes to have a majority in the Parliament. They have occasionally objected to austerity measures he is imposing on the orders of international lenders but then generally concede.
“Yesterday’s announcement should have been made years ago,” Samaras said in a speech in Athens. “We will restore true public television with the most radical reform in the Greek media sector. We have already submitted the law to Parliament.” PASOK and DIMAR could block him there but the party leaders didn’t say if they would.
PASOK head Evangelos Venizelos and DIMAR leader Fotis Kouvelis said they want to meet him to discuss coordinating government policies and to reopen the state-run broadcaster while it is overhauled. The sudden decision yesterday to shut down the company, with the loss of 2,600 jobs, drew anger from unions and threatens to undermine his government a year after the coalition was formed in the wake of two inconclusive elections.
The government said ERT would reopen late in August but with only 1000-1200 workers because the institution was wildly overstaffed, hires that were made by alternating New Democracy and PASOK administrations over the past 40 years who used the broadcaster, as well as other public entities, as dumping grounds for needless patronage hires in return for votes.
The two junior coalition parties submitted a law to parliament to revoke Samaras’s decree shutting down ERT. Venizelos told his lawmakers in Athens that PASOK doesn’t want elections “but it doesn’t fear elections,” although the coalition partners are hovering at 3-6 percent in the polls, barely above the 3 percent threshold needed to win seats.
PASOK’s 28 deputies provide Samaras with the majority he needs in Parliament to pass laws. His New Democracy has 125 seats in the 300-seat house. “Samaras is undertaking the responsibility of leading the country to elections,” DIMAR spokesman Andreas Papadopoulos said, in a first reaction to Samaras’ speech.
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