Second Cabinet of Alexis Tsipras

Ahead of a no-confidence debate starting in Parliament on Tuesday, independent lawmaker Aristides Fokas announced he is joining the ranks of the Independent Greeks (ANEL).

"We will join the fight with ANEL from now on," he told journalists outside Parliament, standing next to party leader Panos Kammenos.

Fokas was previously an MP with the Union of Centrists.

Ahead of a no-confidence debate starting in Parliament on Tuesday, independent lawmaker Aristides Fokas announced he is joining the ranks of the Independent Greeks (ANEL).

"We will join the fight with ANEL from now on," he told journalists outside Parliament, standing next to party leader Panos Kammenos.

Fokas was previously an MP with the Union of Centrists.

The divorce on Sunday between ruling SYRIZA and junior coalition partner Independent Greeks (ANEL) over the latter's opposition to the Prespes agreement with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia amounted to nothing more than a trade-off which will work in the government's favor in Wednesday's confidence vote, according to opposition parties.

One day after his nationalist party quit the SYRIZA-led coalition over the Prespes accord, Panos Kammenos said he would back a censure motion by New Democracy on the condition that its leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis publicly commits not to accept a deal that will include the term "Macedonia" and that he will never negotiate the term.

Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos has ruled out the prospect of a vote of confidence in the SYRIZA-led administration in the event that its junior partner, Independent Greeks (ANEL), quits the coalition over its objections to the name deal with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos has expressed his confidence that the SYRIZA-led administration will secure the 151 votes it needs to adopt the name deal signed between Athens and Skopje in the summer.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to embark on a two-day visit to Athens on January 10.

Conservative opposition chief Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Friday he expects the next general election to take place by May 2019.

The Greek Parliament's Institutions and Transparency Committee has endorsed the appointment of Vassiliki Thanou, former chief of the Supreme Court, as head of country's independent Competition Commission.

Her appointment was backed by MPs from SYRIZA, Independent Greeks (ANEL), the Union of Centrists and Golden Dawn.

The tension was palpable in Greek Parliament on Tuesday as the opposition lashed out at the government during a debate on legislation that included a clause revoking a bailout commitment for further pension cuts.