Athens. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is seriously thinking about accepting into the Syriza Parliamentary group those independent deputies who have been helping his government pass important legislation, after former partner Panos Kammenos and his Independent Greeks party bolted the coalition, Kathimerini reports.
Syriza, with 145 of 300 deputies in its parliamentary group, is now a minority government and must find ad hoc majorities for every upcoming piece of legislation, although a certain core of independents now appear to be reliable allies. Taking them into the parliamentary group would impose the same obligation of party discipline and, if enough join, recreate a majority government that doesn't have to negotiate each time with smaller parties or free-range deputies. It would also ensure Syriza a majority in parliamentary committees.
The most obvious candidates to join Syriza's parliamentary group are the three officeholders: Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura, Deputy Agriculture Minister Vassilis Kokkalis and Deputy Citizen's Protection Minister Katerina Papakosta.

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