Politics of Greece

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras takes part in a news conference after a Tripartite Social Summit ahead of a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, on Thursday.

Leftist opposition SYRIZA has slammed a government deal with the troika of foreign lenders earlier this week calling it a “public relations stunt” designed to prevent a conservative defeat in the coming elections.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Tuesday insisted that no new austerity measures will be required as part of a deal reached earlier in the day between the Greek government and troika inspectors following seven months of tough negotiations.

"Today a long period of tribulations has ended, and a new beginning is being made," Samaras said.

By Antonis Galanopoulos, Marcus Bensasson & Nikos Chrysoloras

Greece will probably sell bonds for the first time in four years before May as the nation seeks to rebuild its finances following an international bailout, Infrastructure Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis said.

With European and local authority elections looming, the political exchanges between co-ruling New Democracy and the main leftist opposition SYRIZA have intensified even as a new party casting itself as anti-establishment appears to be drawing support from both parties, according to opinion polls.

By Alexis Papachelas

Many pundits like to draw parallels between SYRIZA chief Alexis Tsipras and the late PASOK leader Andreas Papandreou. The assumption is that should Tsipras come to power, he would turn into a more systemic, adaptive politician.

The government is to lift restrictions on MPs standing as candidates in the European Parliament elections though MPs of co-ruling New Democracy will have to quit their seats before running as MEPs, Interior Minister Yiannis Michelakis said on Monday.

The government welcomed an agreement by eurozone finance ministers in Brussels late on Friday to extend Greece?s financial rescue by four months, saying it would give the newly-installed administration time to negotiate a new deal.

By Karl Stagno Navarra and Jonathan Stearns

Euro-area finance ministers reached an accord that would keep bailout funds flowing to Greece in return for a commitment to meet certain conditions, buying time to work out the detail of longer-term Greek financing.

Alternate Defense Minister Costas Isichos said on Friday that the government would launch investigations into numerous procurement deals, including the purchase of NH-90 helicopters in 2003, when PASOK was in power and Yiannos Papantoniou was defense minister.