Greece’s conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is opening a debate on same-sex marriage and parenthood, despite massive opposition from the Church, mainstream society and even within his ruling New Democracy party. Mitsotakis is expected to elaborate on the issue in a television interview on Wednesday, where he will show his support for “marriage equality” and announce a bill that would give same-sex couples the right to join together through civil marriage instead of simple marriage. partnership agreement, Greek media reported, citing News.ro.

The bill is likely to provide full and equal adoption rights for children raised by same-sex couples, and there is speculation that the legislation will soon be put to a vote. Instead, the authorities do not intend to legislate the right to medically assisted reproduction of a child through a surrogate mother.

Opinion polls show Greeks are almost evenly split on same-sex marriage, but oppose granting full parental rights to same-sex couples.

A survey conducted by the American company Stanley Greenberg showed that Greek society has changed old attitudes and has become much more open to same-sex marriage than it was before. In particular, those who declare themselves centrist voters – the key audience of Mitsotakis – show a special tolerance for such problems, Greek City Times writes.

As for centre-right and far-right voters, who are more negative on the issue, the key finding is that even if they oppose it, it will not affect their vote except for a small minority, which means, according to polls, it will not have significant electoral costs for the New Democracy.

The poll, conducted by Pulse for Skai, gathered responses from 1,107 participants between 18 and 20 December and found that 52% of those polled have a positive attitude towards same-sex marriage, with a notable 20% who fully support it, and more 32% of respondents have a positive attitude towards same-sex marriage. % who have no objections. However, a significant minority of 33% would prefer same-sex marriage not to be legalized in Greece.

What does the Greek Orthodox Church say?

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to announce the government’s position on long-awaited legislation to allow same-sex marriage in an interview to be broadcast on public broadcaster ERT on Wednesday. The proposed bill is also expected to extend parental rights to same-sex couples in order to protect the rights of children from same-sex partnerships, which are not currently recognized, writes eKathimerini.

The Greek Orthodox Church criticized this proposal. The Church’s Holy Synod, which governs the Church, released a 1,500-word opinion last month saying that for same-sex couples, children are “accessories” and treated as “pets.”

Votes against in their own party

Before the expected interview of the prime minister, three deputies from their own party “New Democracy” expressed a principled position against any amendments to the law.

Minister of State Makis Voridis, who announced his stance against same-sex marriage last October, was asked on the private TV channel ANT1 if there was any possibility of a change in his stance. “My opinion on this issue is fundamental, so I would not believe it, but in any case, let’s listen to what the Prime Minister will say, given that there are many aspects to this issue,” he said.

Thanos Plevris, one of the leaders of the ND parliamentary group, also confirmed that he opposes any changes related to family law. Framing the issue as a matter of conscience, Pleuris added that even if the debate wasn’t about same-sex adoption, he would still oppose the proposal. He believes that this issue has already been resolved by the law on civil unions from 2015, and stated that marriage “must remain the form of family that we want”.

Asked for her opinion on the matter, third ND MP Anna Karamanli said she did not see it as a “priority for the public”, adding that there were “much more serious issues facing them”. She also said that she does not agree with this proposal “in principle” and clarified that she also opposes the bill on civil unions.

Former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras also voiced his opposition, saying last November that “we should support the nuclear family where we have models of parents of both sexes”.

The opposition has its own proposal

The left-wing opposition party Syriza has its own legislative proposal on same-sex marriage. On Monday, the party presented a legislative proposal to eliminate gender discrimination in family law and ensure the right to marry for all.

The proposed proposal addresses the need to prioritize LGBTQI+ rights as a political agenda in alignment with democratic, social-liberal and progressive forces in Greece and Europe, the party said.

The bill aims to ensure equality for same-sex couples, especially in marriage, by providing equivalent rights such as adoption and medical assistance in reproduction, Syriza said, adding that the proposed reforms are in line with the European Union’s LGBTQI+ equality strategy.