According to reports, Eleni Karageorgopoulou sent a letter to the President of Parliament, Nikitas Kaklamanis, informing him that she is leaving the parliamentary group of Course of Freedom (Plefsi Eleftherias.)
The letter of independence will be announced during a plenary session of Parliament on Wednesday morning. The MP for Eastern Attica will remain independent, and according to parliamentary rules, Course of Freedom will not dissolve, as it still has the minimum number of MPs required to continue functioning as a parliamentary group.
According to sources, in her letter, Karageorgopoulou cites political disagreements with the party leadership—a surprising development, as she and Alexandros Kazamias were considered among Konstantopoulou’s closest collaborators. Sources indicate that as early as last week, Karageorgopoulou expressed to the party president, Zoi Konstantopoulou, her disagreement with the political strategy of Course of Freedom and informed her of her intention to become independent. She reportedly told close associates that “in Course of Freedom there is now a large gap between words and actions” and that she will continue independently to criticize the government and New Democracy.
An excerpt from her letter reads:
“My decision to continue as an independent MP is the result of a different political assessment regarding the exercise of the parliamentary role and the need to strengthen substantive parliamentary oversight. Throughout my parliamentary career, political differences arose regarding direction and operations, which led me to this institutional choice. This choice does not constitute an act of confrontation but a political differentiation concerning the parliamentary direction and the way I perform my role. I remain in Parliament to faithfully serve the popular mandate, exercising active and responsible opposition.”
It is recalled that Michalis Chourdakis and Areti Papaioannou had also left the party. Following the recent resignation of Diamantis Karanastasis, the party, aside from its president Zoi Konstantopoulou, now consists of Spyros Bibilas, Alexandros Kazamias, Tzortzia Kefa, and Elli Roussou.
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