Messenia

Greece is preparing for the parliamentary elections on Sunday, January 25, which were triggered by lawmakers' failure to elect a head of state. What follows is a brief overview of the main contenders' promises and aspirations.  

 As SYRIZA widens lead in polls, and creditors increase pressure, Samaras says ND is only safe choice

In the final straight of campaigning ahead of critical snap elections on Sunday, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Monday promised tax cuts and cast New Democracy as the safe choice for Greece opposite an inconsistent SYRIZA.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is expected to change the focus of his election campaign on Saturday, when he is due to present his party?s economic strategy after concentrating on Wednesday on SYRIZA?s stance on law and order as well as immigration.

By Jonathan Stearns and Nikos Chrysoloras

Frances Moschou, who supported Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in national elections in 2012, may now represent a bad omen for him as he fights for political survival.

Greece's radical leftist SYRIZA party led the ruling conservatives by 3.1 percentage points in an opinion poll conducted after it became clear that a snap election would be called, the pollster Rass said on Saturday.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned Greece on Monday against straying from a path of economic reform, saying any new government in Athens would be held to the pledges made by the current government of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.

A 48-year-old Greek was arrested on Friday in Kalamata, in the Peloponnese, after throwing a 25-year-old Bulgarian off a first-floor balcony.

Police said the two men got into a verbal dispute over personal differences, before the physical altercation occurred.

The 25-year-old was being treated at Kalamata hospital.

His situation was not believed to be critical.

Firefighters continued on Tuesday to battle a large blaze in the southwestern Peloponnese that prompted authorities to partially evacuate four villages and take emergency measures for the protection of an ancient city.

The number of people who drowned across Greece since Friday rose to 15 on Sunday after a 50-year-old man died in the area of Peroulia, near Koroni in the Peloponnese, according to information released by the Greek coast guard.

By Maria Katsounaki