Syriza

Michalis Psalidopoulos was given the unenviable position of negotiating for Greece with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Finance Ministry announced the appointment of Psalidopoulos on Wednesday. He is the president of the Center of Planning and Economic Research (KEPE) and Professor of Economics at the Athens University. He will take the post on June 20.

Greece and its international creditors have 72 hours to resolve their differences, with the likelihood of a default seeming more likely as the tock ticks on. Eyes are now turned to European Central Bank Chief Mario Draghi and the central bank meeting on Wednesday that will decide whether funding for Greek banks will continue through European Liquidity Assistance (ELA).

New Democracy suggested Tuesday that the government has no intention of seeking an agreement with the institutions and is instead focused on a rift that could lead Greece out of the euro.

Any agreement between Greece and its lenders will have to include several elements, including debt relief, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Tuesday as he aimed more criticism at the country?s creditors.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras defied what he called an attempt to "humiliate" his government on Tuesday, saying that an insistence by international lenders on further cuts was politically motivated.

Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis met with centrist Potami (River) leader Stavros Theodorakis at the government headquarters, Maximos Mansion, at 10 a.m. on Tuesday. Theodorakis said that he discussed all possible scenarios regarding the negotiations with Greece’s international creditors.

The GPO Opinion Poll held by GPO for private MEGA TV found that 67.8% of Greeks predict a compromise with concessions from the Greek side in order to seal a deal in painful negotiations with Greece’s creditors from the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Eurochange Express, a Facebook group, on Monday urged Greeks to take to the streets and rally against austerity on Wednesday at Syntagma Square. The protest rally, entitled “We take the negotiation into our hands – We knock down austerity” – is based on the premise that “nobody has the right to abolish the democratic right of people, of the entire society to decide on its future.”

Greek talks stalled after Sunday night’s deadlock in Brussels with the Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) government calling on the European leadership to take initiative to bridge the gap between Greece and its international creditors from the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.

The Telegraph’s article, titled “Greece accuses Europe of plotting regime change as creditors draw up ultimatum”, focuses on Greek prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ accusations that Europe’s creditor powers are trying to subvert Greece’s elected government “after five years of ‘pillaging’ warning in solemn terms that his country will defend its sovereign dignity whatever the consequences.”