The other issue that will be discussed in tonight’s meeting, which is scheduled for 20:30, will be the function of the three-party government, as the eventuality of an early general election has been excluded by all sides. At the same time, the employees remain at their positions, continuing live programme broadcasting and event organising and are waiting for the meeting of the Department of Suspensions of the Council of the State, this afternoon, for a second provisional order on the POSPERT (ERT employees’ union) recourse against the closing down of ERT. They are also calling the citizens on a protest rally outside the Supreme Court building, stressing that “ERT will remain alive”.

ERT in the role of “Iphigeneia” in the political bargaining

After briefing, at 17.00, their parliamentary groups on the frame of agreement that was achieved last night at Maximou (the Prime Minister’s office) and having also heard the second provisional order of the Council of the State, whose Department of Suspensions is convening today at 16:00, the political leaders will return to the negotiating table for the finalisation of the agreement among them.

According to the information from political reportage, the re-functioning of “a public radiotelevision broadcaster” in a 2-3 days timeframe has already been decided and what remains to be settled is the issue of the lay-offs, as well as where the transitional broadcaster will be broadcasting from.

The plan proposed by the government is staffing the new broadcaster with a 1,200-strong personnel. Mr. Venizelos and Mr. Kouvelis are reportedly asking for 1,600 new work contracts (hirings), having definitely abandoned their previous positions about the broadcaster re-functioning as it was before the company’s “sudden death” announcement by the minister in charge Mr. Kedikoglou. According to the same information, the staff is expected to be hired under two or three month contracts, while the programme is said to include, among others, two or three news bulletins and a political programme.

At the same time, the legal voids in the Council of the State decision, which the government has yet not executed for almost three days now, remain.

At 18:00 (instead of 16:00 as was initially announced), the Department of Suspensions of the Council of the State is meeting. They will examine all the details of the Joint Ministerial Decision, hear both sides and edit a second written provisional order, which will include reasons for the POSPERT appeal for the suspension of the Joint Ministerial Decision on ERT. In their appeal, the lawyers of POSPERT are invoking seven reasons why the Joint Ministerial Decision is anti-constitutional and they will underline the fact that the government has not complied for three days now, by the first provisional order by the Council of the State for the removal of the “black” screens. The Council of the State decisions that demand reasoning usually take days to be edited, but in this specific case, efforts are expected to be taken for a decision late tonight.

The Committee of Suspensions will have five members. The President will be Konstantinos Menoudakos and the rapporteur will be the Council of the State member K. Koussoulis, while the other three members are from the Council of the State. Both POSPERT and the Coordinating body of the Press and Mass Media trade unions are calling on a protest rally at 17:00 outside the Council of the State building (Panepistimiou and Pesmatzoglou junction), because ERT will remain alive.

An announcement by the Coordination Committee of cooperating unions in the press sector is denouncing the government under Samaras because “not only are they not implementing the Council of the State decision about reinstating the ERT SA signal, but they are also trying to set up a “pirate” radiotelevision construct”.

And they proceed: “The employees at the Public Radiotelevision are shutting their ears against the luring calls and are continuing undeterred on their common struggle and remain coordinated in the effort:

-       to annihilate the decision for the closing down of ERT

-       to withdraw the lay-offs of all employees

-       to reistate the ERT signal in Greece and all over the world”.

Finally, let it be noted that the government rejected anew today the amendments presented today by KKE (Communist Party) and Independent Greeks (a right-wing party) for the abolition of the Legislation Act and the Ministerial Decision on ERT, in the Ministry of Environment bill.