Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday nominated a long-term conservative ally, parliament chief Konstantinos Tasoulas, for the post of president.
Mitsotakis brought the issue of the presidential election to a close, stating there was no reason for the ongoing debate—dominating television coverage in recent days—to continue.
The selection of Tasoulas, who has been elected three times with cross-party consensus, along with the promotion of the seasoned political figure Nikitas Kaklamanis—first elected as an MP in 1990—to the third highest state office, outline the political priorities of the Prime Minister.
In Greece, the post of the head of state is a largely ceremonial one, with candidates nominated by the premier and voted on by lawmakers for a five-year term.
More specifically, Tasoulas, 65, has been head of parliament since Mitsotakis was elected in 2019 and is considered close to the conservative New Democracy party’s nationalist wing.
Accepting the nomination, he called it a “paramount honour and responsibility”.
The trained lawyer and father of two is a cabinet and parliament veteran, first elected as a lawmaker in 2000 and having since served as culture minister, deputy defence minister and party general secretary in parliament.
The government headed by Mitsotakis has 155 lawmakers in the 300-seat chamber, enough to secure Tasoulas’s election, though not in the first round.
A presidential nomination requires support from 200 lawmakers to pass in the first round, with the threshold progressively decreasing to a simple majority in the fifth round.
The first round of voting is due to take place on January 25.
Mitsotakis said Tasoulas inspired “trust in society” had “integrity” and a “deep knowledge of Greek history.”
He said that Greece needed an experienced politician as head of state amid a “turbulent” global environment facing the country.
Tasoulas would succeed incumbent President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, a former senior judge and the first woman to hold the post, who was elected in 2020.
As mayor of the wealthy Athens suburb of Kifissia, Tasoulas had been accused of attempted blackmail by a land developer. He was already a lawmaker by the time a lawsuit was filed in 2001, and parliament refused to lift his immunity. He has called the charges politically motivated.
Source: AFP
