Greek Parliament to vote on same-sex marriage legalization

Greek Parliament is expected to vote today on the legalization of same-sex marriage in Athens.

Centre-right Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is the key supporter of this legislation in Parliament with many in his New Democracy Party dissenting to the vote. Mitsotakis will be relying heavily on Greece’s left-wing parties to approve this bill as Greek law.

The Greek Orthodox Church has strongly opposed this bill and has warned that any member of Parliament (MP) voting for this legislation will not be welcome in the church. Greek MPs’ strong ties to the church have created opposition not just within the political right, but also the left. Some MPs from the Syriza Party, currently lead Greece’s first openly gay party leader, opposing the bill because of their constituents’ values. The Syriza Party did pass a civil union recognition in 2015, however didn’t legislate marriage recognition.

This vote is stirring up some hot-button issues in one of Europe’s most religious states and MPs’ loyalty to the Church will be tested today. In the short term, expect this bill to fail, given insufficient numbers in parliament. Long-term, expect Mitsotakis’ attempts at same-sex marriage to reduce his political capital within Parliament, which could weaken the position of his ruling party at its next legislative election.