The bill for the sale of lignite units owned by Greece's main power utility, the Public Power Corporation (PPC), was passed by the plenary of the Hellenic Parliament on Wednesday with 151 votes in favour and 124 votes against. The bill was supported by MPs of the ruling SYRIZA-ANEL coalition and voted down by the opposition in a roll-call vote requested by the Democratic Alliance.
Three SYRIZA MPs - Efi Georgopoulou, Dimitris Baxevanakis and Markos Bolaris - were absent during the vote, which a total of 25 MPs from all parties did not attend.
Environment and Energy Minister George Stathakis ended the debate by noting that it would bring better days for the PPC and Greece's energy sector, while noting that local communities will benefit from cheaper power and national funds for the transition to the post-lignite period.
The bill was also supported by independent MP Haris Theoharis, who later issued a statement to explain his decision, saying that "even this solution is better than no solution" and urging both government and opposition to "stop the hypocrisy. All sides had made mistakes regarding the PPC, he pointed out, with the political system and trade unions wasting time in mistaken solutions, foot-dragging and denial of the problems, "that we are now coming to address under great pressure, doing too little, too late and for a low price."