Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has proposed reviewing ministers’ legal immunity and the guaranteed lifetime employment of state-sector workers, citing the need to restore public trust following a corruption scandal and ahead of the 2027 national election.
Mitsotakis’ centre-right government, while still leading opinion polls, has been shaken by a case uncovered by EU prosecutors in 2025, in which some farmers, aided by state employees, allegedly faked land ownership to claim subsidies. Parliament is examining the affair.
Public anger has also lingered over the government’s handling of a 2023 train crash that killed 57 people, Greece’s deadliest on record, which sparked mass protests and led to a trial opening next month.
Under Greece’s constitution, only parliament can investigate ministers or lift lawmakers’ immunity. “The world of 2026 is different and poses new challenges,” Mitsotakis said in a letter to ruling party MPs and in a televised address.
“The time is ripe for a brave constitutional revision towards a functional democracy.”
He also suggested reviewing lifetime job security for public sector workers, arguing it would improve efficiency, and said the constitution should address modern issues including artificial intelligence, housing, climate change, fiscal stability and judicial delays.
Any constitutional changes would require approval by two successive parliaments, with an enhanced majority of 180 deputies in at least one vote.
