The Prime Minister Antonis Samaras suddenly ordered Parliament to shut down on Wednesday, without an official explanation, about four weeks before it was originally scheduled.
As expected, the sudden closure caused fierce reactions from all parties of the opposition, with SYRIZA commenting that “this is something that should only happen for elections”. The closure also means that the startling Baltakos scandal will not be discussed in Parliament.
While the government has not provided any official explanations, especially since the President of Parliament Evangelos Meimarakis recently assured that there was no reason to shut down earlier, it is largely believed that the PM simply wants to take advantage of the summer sessions in order to pass a number of critical bills.
During the summer sessions only 100 MPs participate in proceedings, with each party choosing which of its MPs will participate. This will make it easier for the coalition government to pass critical bills by avoiding any dissent from within its ranks.
It has also been speculated that the early closure of Parliament may be related to the limitation period of potential crimes that may have been conducted during the Papandreou and Papadimos administrations.
