Panhellenic Socialist Movement

PASOK hit back Wednesday at a decision by Parliament’s institutions committee to question whether the head of the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) Andreas Georgiou should remain in the job as he is investigated for a second time over claims that Greece’s 2009 deficit figure was inflated.

Greece’s current European Commissioner, Maria Damanaki, will not return to Greece or Greek politics when her tenure ends in October, Kathimerini understands.

Damanaki holds the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries portfolio and it is thought that she will continue in this field after leaving the Commission. Sources said she has already been approached by international organizations.

Current Defense Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos will be Greece’s representative on the new European Commission, which will be named later this year.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras wrote on Sunday to Commission President-elect Jean-Claude Juncker, who is due to visit Athens on August 4, to inform him of his decision to send Avramopoulos to Brussels.

New Democracy has begun firing staff from its party headquarters on Syngrou Avenue in Athens as it tries to rein in its spending.

Kathimerini understands that 10 members of staff lost their jobs last week and that another 50 to 60 may leave in the coming months. Some will be offered voluntary redundancy, while others will be fired.

A meeting between Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis and representatives of the armed forces and emergency services, which was due to take place on Monday, has been called off as the government reconsiders its options on how to restore these groups’ salaries.

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.

By Nikos Konstandaras

The coalition has decided to water down a controversial bill on the use of coastal land and avoid a confrontation with opposition parties, it emerged on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and PASOK chief Evangelos Venizelos are on Thursday expected to discuss a rift that has appeared within the government over an evaluation scheme for civil servants which has been demanded by the troika.

Tension within the government over public sector reform increased on Tuesday as Administrative Reform Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis hit out at fellow cabinet members and at PASOK in particular for questioning the evaluation of civil servants and plans to sack another 6,500 by the end of the year.