Minister of State Stavros Papastavrou and Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister Yannis Bratakos on Thursday afternoon submitted their resignations to Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

The latter thanked them for their service and accepted their resignations.

The unexpected political development comes amid an ongoing three-day debate in Greece’s Parliament over a no-confidence motion tabled in the legislature on Tuesday by the leader of the socialist PASOK party, Nikos Androulakis. A vote on the motion is expected before midnight on Thursday.

The no-confidence motion itself followed an explosive front-page story in the weekly “To Vima” citing doctored audio tapes leaked to the press immediately after the deadly Feb. 28, 2023 Tempi rail collision.