After reshuffle, focus shifts to bid to elect TV watchdog board

Newly appointed government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos on Tuesday dismissed talk of Greece having to sign a fourth bailout as a New Democracy ploy.

At the same time, conservative leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis appealed to SYRIZA voters on Crete to abandon the party and throw their weight behind the main opposition.

At his first scheduled press conference since being made spokesman in Friday's reshuffle, Tzanakopoulos insisted there was no question of Athens having to sign a new loan agreement, including a commitment to implement more measures, so the International Monetary Fund would agree to join the Greek bailout program.

"A new relationship with any of our partners is not on the agenda now," he told journalists, adding that talk of a fourth memorandum of understanding was being pushed by New Democracy.

"They want the government's effort to secure debt...