Greek government-debt crisis

If the current government remains in power after the January 25 elections it would negotiate for part of Greece's debt, currently at around 170 percent of GDP, to be transformed from a floating to a fixed rate, Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis said on Monday night.

The head of the group of eurozone finance ministers promised Tuesday to work with the winner of the upcoming Greek election, but urged Athens to stick with austerity.

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the president of the Eurogroup who also serves as the Dutch finance minister, also stressed that the region could offer more help should Greece keep its promise to reform.

In an apparent bid to broaden their appeal, conservative New Democracy and main leftist opposition SYRIZA have both largely opted for candidates from outside the party fold for their state lists ahead of the elections.

Candidates on the list do not compete for votes in the polls but are elected based on the share of the vote the party receives.

With less than two weeks of this brief election campaign left, SYRIZA became embroiled in an argument with the Finance Ministry on Monday after the latter warned the opposition party that it would not be able to meet funding needs by issuing T-bills if it comes to power.

Amid uncertainty about Greece's political future, tourism chief Andreas Andreadis insists that the country's tourism sector is on course for another strong year.

Political parties started announcing the candidates for their state lists on Monday as campaigning heats up ahead of snap polls on January 25.

By David Goodman

Greece?s bonds climbed on Monday, with three-year yields dropping for a third day, amid easing concern that a victory for the anti-austerity Syriza party in this month?s elections would result in the nation leaving the euro region.

Two of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras?s closest advisers, Chrysanthos Lazaridis and Stavros Papastavros, will not be included on the party?s state list of candidates for the January 25 elections, Kathimerini understands.

Candidates on the state list do not compete for votes in the elections but are elected based on the share of the vote the party receives.

Greece's leftist opposition Syriza party will need EU/IMF approval to issue short-term debt to cover funding needs in the first quarter if it takes power after a Jan. 25 election, the finance ministry said on Monday.

By Marcus Bensasson

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras entered the two-week countdown to Jan. 25 elections with opinion polls showing he has so far failed to narrow the lead held by his main opponent, Alexis Tsipras of Syriza.