Panhellenic Socialist Movement

Government officials on Monday defended the decision by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to herald tax breaks at the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) over the weekend as the first tangible move toward offering relief after years of austerity and indicated that the pledges could be supported by the budget.

In a speech at an event on Wednesday night in Athens marking the 40th anniversary of the founding of PASOK, both the party’s leader Evangelos Venizelos and former Socialist Prime Minister Costas Simitis appealed to party patriotism to revive PASOK’s flagging fortunes and took turns at making indirect digs at George Papandreou, who was not at the event.

School guards enrolled in a mobility scheme involving forced transfers and layoffs on Wednesday staged a protest outside coalition partners PASOK headquarters in Athens.

Protesters demanded that the government repeal a decision to eliminate their job and rehire all dismissed staff.

PASOK on Tuesday sought to contain the political fallout in the wake of a tense and tumultuous event marking the Socialist party’s 40th anniversary.

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will meet with his coalition partner, PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos, and Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis on Monday ahead of crucial two-day talks with representatives of the country's lenders set to begin in Paris Tuesday.

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Turkey, a country branded by some as undemocratic and maladjusted by European standards, recently elected a new president – Recep Tayyip Erdogan – in a vote that was transparent and with a clear result.

PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos has extended an invitation to former party chiefs Costas Simitis and George Papandreou to take part in an event to mark the party’s 40th anniversary on September 3.

According to sources, Venizelos e-mailed both ex-prime ministers to inform them that they would be welcome at the event, to be held at the Zappeio Hall.

A meeting between Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and Deputy Premier Evangelos Venizelos on Wednesday evening is expected to result in the government settling on its negotiating strategy for the talks coalition representatives are due to hold with the troika in Paris at the beginning of September.

The coalition on Monday attempted to play down Sunday Kathimerini’s report that Democratic Left (DIMAR) leader Fotis Kouvelis is being lined up as a nominee for the Greek presidency but at the same time government officials expressed support for the idea of the 65-year-old leftist succeeding Karolos Papoulias early next year.