The Greek Orthodox Church asked lawmakers on Wednesday (14 February) to hold a roll-call vote on the same-sex marriage bill, a sensitive issue that has sparked an intense debate in the country and divided the ruling conservative New Democracy party.
Lawmakers will vote on 15 February on a bill legalising for the first time same-sex marriages as well as their right to adoption.
The inclusion of medically assisted reproduction was rejected, with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis saying he would not allow Greece to become “Europe’s experiment”.
The issue was pushed forward by Mitsotakis, considered to represent the liberal faction of his conservative party. He has personally defended the bill, saying the primary objective is to seek equality for all citizens.
However, not all members of New Democracy (European People’s Party), which has traditionally strong ties with the church, are happy.
Local reports suggest that more than 30 New Democracy lawmakers – from the conservative but also an ultra-right party faction – are expected to oppose the bill.
Moreover, all three far-right parties in Greece’s parliament, as well as the communist party, will vote against but the bill is expected to pass with the help of progressive political parties in the opposition: leftist Syriza and the New Left, as well as the socialist Pasok party.
In Greece, there is no separation of church and state while the constitution has an explicit reference to Greek Orthodoxy as the predominant religion in the country.
The church opposed the bill the moment the government announced its intentions. The church is now calling for a roll-call vote in parliament, in what was seen by some observers as an attempt to put pressure on lawmakers.
“Greek people are democratic and have taught democracy since ancient times. It would, therefore, be good […] that this specific vote should be held by roll call,” said Ieronymos II, the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, the head of the Greek Orthodox church.
For Elena Akrita, a Syriza lawmaker, the position of the Greek Church should not be taken into account at all, given that “it’s not an interlocutor” in this discussion.
Speaking to Euractiv, Akrita accused the ruling party of “tragic ideological inconsistency” about such a historic vote on fundamental rights.
“New Democracy is not progressive, they just had no other choice but to speed things up with this bill […] especially after Greece was condemned by the European Court of Human Rights,” she told Euractiv.
In 2013, the European Court of Human Rights condemned Greece for breaching human rights because of its denial to include same-sex couples in cohabitation agreements.
Former prime minister Antonis Samaras, a New Democracy member known for his right-wing approach, is leading the camp opposing the bill. A source close to Samaras recently said that the future of the EU centre-right “goes right” especially in light of the US elections in November.
The governing party has tried to downplay the significance of the internal turmoil over the bill, saying there are diverging views in all parties. A government source told Euractiv that the vote is not expected to have an impact on the party’s cohesion.
However, the opposition argues that by not imposing voting discipline Mitsotakis wants to keep the door open to far-right voters.
According to polls, New Democracy still dominates the Greek political landscape while left-wing opposition parties remain fragmented and unable to find common ground.