New Democracy leadership election

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will travel to Berlin on Tuesday, almost 10 months to the day since he was last in the German capital, for one of the most crucial meetings of his premiership as he seeks to find common ground with Chancellor Angela Merkel on Greece’s adjustment program and further debt relief.

Coalition leaders sought on Thursday to defuse tension that has built up between New Democracy and PASOK as a result of the assessment of public servants’ performance, with the Administrative Reform Ministry indicating that it is willing to make compromises over the evaluation scheme.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras marked Thursday’s 40th anniversary of the end of the military dictatorship by saying that democracy has “deep roots” in Greece but the government’s spokeswoman found herself in disagreement with President Karolos Papoulias, who argued that democracy has suffered during the country’s economic crisis.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras pledged on Wednesday to unveil a plan later this year to reduce a range of taxes if Greece is able to meet its fiscal targets.

Reforms push Greece to economic recovery

The costs are high, but the government has stuck to implementing the required steps.

The government of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras floated a sovereign bond for the first time since the economic crisis began in 2010. [AFP]