The members of the new Greek Parliament took the oath of office on Thursday, February 5, in the presence of Archbishop Ieronymos. The Archbishop of Athens and All Greece performed the standard benediction, and then the parliament members swore their religious oath before him, while one Muslim MP was sworn-in taking an oath in the name of Allah. For the first time ever, the majority of Greek MPs opted to take a political and not a religious oath, including SYRIZA and KKE parliament members (apart from Liana Kanelli), as well as several members from To Potami. A total of 134 parliament members will be sworn-in for the first time, representing 45% of the House. Furthermore, the six imprisoned Golden Dawn members who were elected in the national election of January 25, were given permission by the prosecutor to attend the oath ceremony. Upon his arrival in the Greek parliament building, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras personally greeted former prime minister, and leader of the opposition party Antonis Samaras. As for the Independent Greeks (ANEL) MPs, only Elena Koundoura chose to take the oath from the ministerial stands, while Panos Kammenos, leader of ANEL and Greek National Defense Minister in the new coalition government, decided to take the oath along with the rest of his party. On Friday, the sworn MPs will elect the chairman and vice-chairman of the Greek Parliament. Over the weekend they will discuss the new government program and on Monday they will be asked to give their vote of confidence to the new coalition government.
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