President Papoulias puts forward technocrat government for Greece

In a desperate bid to end the week-long political impasse and make sure that Greece does not lose out on International bailout package, President Carolos Papoulias has suggested the formation of a government of technocrats on Monday. The idea was floated before the leaders of Greece’s three main political parties – the Socialist Pasok, the radical left Syriza and the Conservative New Democracy party, as they failed to form a unity government.

The proposal, though, brought forth a lukewarm response across front-line political leaders, a meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday afternoon (2 PM local time) to chew on it.

While the New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras gave his assurance to help build a government, the chief of Democratic left, Fotis Kouvelis, is totally against the idea of a technocrat government. The chief of Pasok party, Evangelos Venizelos, has termed the Tuesday’s meeting as the last attempt to save Greece “out of a dead end.” On the other hand, although  Syriza party chief Alexis Tsipras is set to attend Tuesday’s meeting, his party has made it abundantly clear that they would not support any move to back austerity. Buzz is that, the 37-year-old dashing Syriza leader wants Greece to either pull out of the bailout agreement altogether or renegotiate the deal.

Hopes dashed as Greece failed to form unity government

Despite President Carolos Papoulias’ repeated attempts to save Greece from further chaos, the front-line party heads have failed to form coalition government. This has happened as a result of the failure of the political parties to reach a consensus on the controversial Greece bail-out deal.

The meeting held at the Presidential mansion on Sunday was attended by three of the most prominent Greek leaders. They were the conservative leader Antonis Samaras, the extreme leftist Syriza chief Alexis Tsipras and the socialist Pasok leader Evangelos Venizelos.

The talk which was aimed at ironing out differences between major political parties on fiscal pact, soon reached an impasse as leaders started blaming each other on the highly controversial bailout agreement and stiff spending cuts. While, the 37-year old Alexis Tsipras riding high on ‘anti-austerity wave’ clearly and completely rejected any negotiations with pro-bailout leaders, Conservative leader Antonis Samaras accused Tsipras for the current standoff. It has also been reported that Tsipras has given the assurance of pulling out of the bail-out deal without giving up Euro.

As per the latest news, the President of Greece is expected to hold another round of fresh talks with the political parties on Monday. Though only a slim chance remains, but if Greece succeeds to form a new government before the Thursday deadline, it might be able to avoid a repeat election and, perhaps, stay in the euro zone.

Greek Premier to stand down to allow coalition government

Amidst intense pressure, the Prime Minister of Greece is going to step down on Monday to make way for a national unity government. The announcement was made on Sunday night by the Greece President Karolos Papoulias to assure EU leaders that Greece is serious about dealing with the debt crisis. Greece is currently on the verge of economic collapse and is desperate for the 130 billion Euros rescue package.

Before the announcement, Greek Premier, Papandreou, held talk with the head of the leading opposition, Antonis Samaras, and the President. It was agreed in the meeting that the interim coalition government, under a new Prime Minister, will work on the debt-relief agreement with the EU.

The Sunday's Presidential statement also stated that the two leaders, George Papandreou and Antonis Samaras, are going to meet on Monday. They will decide on the next Greece Prime Minister and the other ministers in the new ruling party. Both the leaders have agreed Feb 19, 2012 to be the suitable date for Greece Election.

In the new national unity government, both the Socialist party and the New Democracy party will have share. Both Greece and the EU leaders are expecting that the coalition government headed by a new Prime Minister will have backing of both the parties. He should be able to serve long enough to execute the new austerity measures needed for the fulfillment of the debt agreement and pass 2011 budget.