Syriza

Top government and ruling SYRIZA party officials met in the Maximos Mansion on Wednesday in a much-anticipated session chaired by PM Alexis Tsipras, a day after his government presented and won conditional support of a tax-for- cash deal with institutional creditors.

Hopes were high Tuesday that Greece and its creditors can seal a debt deal in the exactly one week left to avert default, but those could fade as the Greek premier must convince his anti-austerity party to approve concessions needed to unblock bailout funds.

The tough task that Greek PM Alexis Tsipras will be faced with, namely, to convince his MPs to vote for a deal with institutional creditors and the harsh tax-and-tax measures which accompany it, is presented by Bloomberg.

Former Greek Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas welcomed the new approach on the debt issue. “There is a ray of hope that we will be able to avert catastrophe”, he said, speaking to German radio station Deutschlandfunk on Tuesday morning. At the same time, however, he did not hide his skepticism. “These are extremely harsh measures. This is 8 billion euro for the next one and a half years”.

Greek lawmakers reacted angrily on Tuesday to concessions Athens offered in debt talks and parliament's deputy speaker warned the proposals would struggle to win approval, puncturing optimism that a deal to lift Greece out of crisis might be quickly sealed.

Daily Mail spotted a 26-year-old Alexis Tsipras way back in 2001 clad in a … Che Guevara T-shirt and Cuba baseball cap trying to exit a ferry boat in Italy. He was accompanied by a few hundred other Greek political activists, of the far left variety, that arrived in Ancona in a bid to disrupt a G8 Summit.

 Party bodies ready to convene, VAT on islands a red line for Independent Greeks

SYRIZA?s party bodies are on standby to meet in the coming days if the government reaches an agreement with the institutions and to assess whether the deal meets the approval of leftist party members and MPs.

Last week, I had to call my bank in Athens. I talked to a helpful lady who dealt with my query immediately. But I could not hang up without asking the situation in Greece. "Is it getting very difficult for you?" I asked. "Yes, there is a bit of tension, these days," the lady replied, calmly. It was obvious that she was told not to cause panic to customers.

By Evangelos Venizelos, former socialist PASOK leader

After five months, the moment of truth is approaching for everyone.

A Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) government council – chaired by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras – ended after five and a half hours. Economy Minister George Stathakis told reporters that the government was working towards a deal and is ready to present Greek proposals to institutions on Monday.