Controversy continues on the issue of sexual education in schools, with Nicolas Papadopoulos leaving clear points before the Parliament, regarding the letter of the Minister of Education to the Speaker of the Parliament on the issue.
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During the plenary session of the Parliament, DIKO President Nicolas Papadopoulos asked the Speaker of the Parliament to speak, He wanted to clarify that his party fully agrees with the proposed law, even congratulating the rapporteurs for their initiative as, as he said, sex education should be taught in schools.
"Our problem," he noted, "which will also be a problem for the parliament if this bill is passed, is that it is blatantly unconstitutional. No maybe, it is blatantly unconstitutional because the parliament does not have the power to vote and decide what the curriculum is," he said.
He then noted that despite the fact that this issue starts with the best of intentions, "this initiative will hinder because if this proposal is sent to petition and we make and a year to be tried by the Supreme Court, this issue will be pending and cannot proceed with the initiatives of the Ministry and will be delayed," he said.
Confrontation with Anita on Prodromou
Continuing, the President of DIKO said that "we must note the following: We already have in our hands the opinion of the Attorney General's Office, which tells us that this proposal is unconstitutional. How is it that the committee's report paints a picture that the Minister of Education and his ministry are positive, but we have received a letter from the minister that is totally against this proposed legislation? Q Someone needs to give us an explanation as to how this discrepancy came about so that some people don't tell us that we are being ham-handed when the ruling party at the moment seems to be attacking the Minister of Education of the Anastasiades Government?"
Taking the floor immediately, Speaker of the Parliament Anita Demetriou wanted to clarify the issue by stating that "How did the ruling party attack? If you mean the Speaker of the House, she enforces the procedures and rules and does not attack. The discrepancy, Mr Papadopoulos, and because it concerns me I have to answer, has arisen due to the fact that the position of the Ministry was not presented as such in the examination and debate during the committee and the Minister wanted to send to the President of the House the position of his Ministry, which was presented differently from the one presented to the committee. Whereupon he makes an institutional intervention."
"I do not want to enter into a dialogue, Madam President", replied Nicolas Papadopoulos. "With all due respect, I fully respect your position but I don't know if I am the only one who noticed that last week the Minister sent us a letter to warn us that we should not change the pension plan and what I am wondering is that the Minister of Finance is entitled to intervene in the parliament but the Minister of Education is not?"
In conclusion, the Speaker said: "I will answer you, Mr Papadopoulos. The Minister of Education did not address the members of the House but the Speaker of the House. The President has no right either to change agendas or to change the verdict of the Members of Parliament. When that is the institutional intervention and not the substance of the Minister's position which is obviously presented differently from what was tabled in committee and this body cannot be blackmailed or coerced into any position before its verdict. Moreover, it has the right to recommend to the President of the Republic to refer it back."
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