The informal intergroup committee meeting that took place in Parliament on Friday came to an agreement regarding the two political leader debates ahead of the snap election later in September.
The first debate, where all political leaders will participate, has been scheduled to take place on Wednesday the 9th of September, while the second debate, between SYRIZA’s Alexis Tsipras and ND’s Evangelos Meimarakis, will take place on the 14th of September.
Both televised debates will begin at 10pm and will conclude at around 1am. The debates will be broadcasted by ERT.
Uncertainty due to scheduling clashes
While it was initially reported that dates had been agreed upon for two debates – the first between all party leaders and the second between Tsipras and Meimarakis – scheduling conflicts have prevented the date being officially set. The date for the first debate has not yet been set due to the conflicting planned appearances of the political leaders at the International Fair in Thessaloniki.
New Democracy’s provisional leader Evangelos Meimarakis has stated that he will participate in the debates, whenever they are set, while Independent Greeks leader Panos Kammenos announced that he is willing to change his schedule. SYRIZA president Alexis Tsipras has clarified taht he will be unable to attend any debates after the 14th of September.
With limited time and opportunities available, New Democracy has proposed an additional discussion between party representatives on the following subjects: Economy/growth, foreign policy, education/youth, public security, farming, the social state and culture/sport.
