Greek government-debt crisis

By John Geddie

Investor concern that a new government may push Greece toward another default appears to have eased over the past week, as a sharp inversion in its borrowing costs diminishes.

By Antonis Galanopoulos and Nikos Chrysoloras

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has 10 days to win over undecided voters and overturn the opposition party Syriza's persistent lead in opinion polls.

By James G. Neuger & Eleni Chrepa

As it comes closer to gaining power in Greece, the anti-establishment Syriza party that once advocated a pullout from NATO and expulsion of the U.S. Navy from a base in Crete is moving toward the foreign-policy mainstream.

By Jonathan Stearns

Greece is unlikely to win any writedown on debt owed to the euro area and should instead focus on possible relief in the form of longer repayment periods, said Olli Rehn, who helped avert a Greek exit from the European single currency at the height of the financial crisis.

On a lightning visit to Athens on Wednesday, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy expressed support for his Greek counterpart Antonis Samaras and defended the tough economic program the outgoing government has been pursuing under the supervision of foreign creditors, saying the reforms were ?necessary? and had ?produced results,? advising Greeks to ignore ?impossible? promises.

A fresh row broke out on Wednesday between PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos and his predecessor George Papandreou, with the latter claiming that there was an effort within his party from June 2011 to unseat him as prime minister.

 Primary surplus misses target by 3 billion euros as taxpayers stopped paying their dues in December

By Sotiris Nikas

Former conservative Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis on Wednesday said voting for New Democracy was the best bet to keep Greece stable and to ensure the continuation of reforms.

?The country needs more than ever political stability and far reaching reforms,? Karamanlis said in a rare statement.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Wednesday threw his weight behind his Greek counterpart Antonis Samaras ahead of general elections on January 25 while stressing the need for Greece to stay the course of economic reforms.

Greece's central government fell far short of its projected budget surplus for 2014, the finance ministry said on Wednesday, citing lower tax revenues and a stalled bailout review that prevented the disbursement of funds.