It starts today the “timer” is in effect in Parliament speeches, a new system that puts limits on the appointments of political leaders, ministers and MPs that exceed the predetermined time. “Tolerance is ending, and this applies to everyone,” clarified the Speaker of the Parliament Nikitas Kaklamanis, signaling the implementation of a measure that aspires to change decades of parliamentary habits. The ‘timer’ officially premiered at the parliamentary scrutiny meeting at 9am.
The Parliament had recently given the “green light” then from a relevant proposal of its president, approving the operation of an automated system that will be applied horizontally to all. In practice, each speaker will have an additional 25% time margin beyond the default before the cutter is activated.
Indicative:
-Proposers and buyers will be able to speak up to 28 minutes (instead of 22).
-Parliamentary representatives up to 27 minutes (instead of 21).
– MPs up to 9 minutes (instead of 7).
– The presidents of parliamentary groups with more than 50 MPs will have 25 minutes (instead of 20).
-Leaders of smaller parties 19 minutes (instead of 15).
-Ministers 13 minutes (instead of 10).
Based on the changes to the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament, ministers and political leaders will be able to ask for the floor up to three times a day, without however invoking two different properties for the same purpose. Initially, the new arrangements will apply to parliamentary scrutiny and debates on bills, while later they will be extended to special procedures, such as pre-day meetings, the budget and the motion of no confidence.
Although the majority of MPs has expressed dissatisfaction with the prolonged meetings caused by the passage of time, the attitude Zoi Konstantopoulou will take is interesting. The president of “Pleusis Eleftherias” had strongly reacted to Kaklamanis’ proposal, characterizing the regulation as “photographic” and speaking of “political expediency” with the aim of “silencing” the opposition.
How the timer will work
The new system is fully automated: when the speaker exceeds his allotted time, the microphone will automatically turn off. During yesterday’s general test, it was found that the plenary screens will warn of the end of time. One minute before the end, a warning sound will sound and the letters on the screens will change from white to yellow. At the end of time, will turn red and, once the additional margin is used up, the microphone will turn off and the camera will move away from the step.
The “timer” is not just a technical measure, but an attempt to restore parliamentary discipline and to limit the marathon conference phenomena that have plagued the House for years. As Nikitas Kaklamanis stated, “tolerance ends — for everyone, without exception.”