the EU’s favor, and wasted time learning the obvious. Still, a majority of the party’s central committee was against the agreement. While the PM has now acknowledged his defeat, in front of the Greek Parliament he also claims that his strategy of confronting Europe on matters of austerity will have long-term consequences (To Vima 2015b). The agreement in Brussels has to be approved by the Greek parliament. The first step of this process has been completed (both initial agreement and two rounds of prerequisite measures), but now we have the negotiations and approval of the third MOU of over 80 billion euros. To understand the coming events, it is worth examining an important feature of Greek institutions: any elections held within 18 months of a previous vote take place under a list voting system. This means that party headquarters determine the sequence of candidates on the ballot. Put simply, party leaders decide who gets elected. This particular provision gives exceptional power to the Greek Prime Minister, power much greater than that granted to counterparts in any other country in the world. Almost all prime ministers of countries with parliamentary systems have the power to call for a vote of confidence, forcing members of parliament to decide not only whether they are in favor of a particular bill, but also whether they are willing to defend their choice by standing for a new election (the result of a negative vote). This is a serious weapon in the hands of a prime minister. Yet the list electoral system within 18 months of the previous election is a much stronger weapon. The Greek PM not only can threaten to call an election, he can also control the future members of parliament using his capacity to exclude dissidents from the party’s lists. Many party officials, including the ones closest to Mr. Tsipras, have claimed that they will whip the vote and that if the government loses
the EU’s favor, and wasted time learning the obvious. Still, a majority of the party’s central committee was against the agreement. While the PM has now acknowledged his defeat, in front of the Greek Parliament he also claims that his strategy of confronting Europe on matters of austerity will have long-term consequences (To Vima 2015b). The agreement in Brussels has to be approved by the Greek parliament. The first step of this process has been completed (both initial agreement and two rounds of prerequisite measures), but now we have the negotiations and approval of the third MOU of over 80 billion euros. To understand the coming events, it is worth examining an important feature of Greek institutions: any elections held within 18 months of a previous vote take place under a list voting system. This means that party headquarters determine the sequence of candidates on the ballot. Put simply, party leaders decide who gets elected. This particular provision gives exceptional power to the Greek Prime Minister, power much greater than that granted to counterparts in any other country in the world. Almost all prime ministers of countries with parliamentary systems have the power to call for a vote of confidence, forcing members of parliament to decide not only whether they are in favor of a particular bill, but also whether they are willing to defend their choice by standing for a new election (the result of a negative vote). This is a serious weapon in the hands of a prime minister. Yet the list electoral system within 18 months of the previous election is a much stronger weapon. The Greek PM not only can threaten to call an election, he can also control the future members of parliament using his capacity to exclude dissidents from the party’s lists. Many party officials, including the ones closest to Mr. Tsipras, have claimed that they will whip the vote and that if the government loses