Outlining his proposals ahead of the country’s constitutional review, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Tuesday he is aiming to introduce “religious neutrality” to the Greek state, and expressed confidence that the Church will be on board.

“Church and state have the maturity, the wisdom and the sensitivity to put their relations on a rational basis,” he told a meeting of SYRIZA’s parliamentary group, adding that it is time to enshrine the religious neutrality of the Greek state in the country’s Constitution.

He did not elaborate on what form these relations would take.



Tsipras reiterated his proposal for the establishment of a proportional electoral system and of what he called a “constructive vote of no confidence,” an institution that will make it more difficult to submit it.



He also said he wants to push through a proposal that would require the prime minister to be an elected lawmaker, to “avoid repeating political situations where prime ministers have not been approved by the popular vote.”



Another proposal is to allow the public to request referendums on crucial national issues or on voted bills.



For its part, conservative New Democracy denounced Tsipras for using the issue of the constitutional review to try to divert attention from his government’s shortcomings.