Syriza

In a decision that is set to further enhance her influence as House speaker, albeit within the limits stipulated by the Parliament rule book, Zoe Constantopoulou has said she intends to reopen investigations into two high-profile corruption cases as head of the Special Permanent Committee on Institutions and Transparency.

The Council of State are expected to rule in the coming days on whether or not a series of cuts to pensions over the years, carried out in line with the demands of international creditors, are Constitutional or not, with most of the court's judges said to be leaning toward an unconstitutional ruling, Skai understands.

Three main conclusions appear from the latest opinion poll commissioned and published on Friday by protothema.gr – Greece’s leading news site: first, PM Alexis Tsipras remains a “dominant” factor in the government’s popularity; secondly, a “honeymoon period” for the leftist government is over and, finally, that its first 100 days in power weakened the country’s negotiating position.

May Day 2015 in Greece: A general strike for some, a holiday marking the apex of spring and a celebration of flowers for others. Protest marches took place in several Greek cities on Friday, with the biggest in central Athens, where the “star” participant was none other than the world’s latest “celebrity economist”, FinMin Yanis Varoufakis.

In a message on his Twitter account marking Labor Day, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras highlighted the importance of efforts to protect workers rights while several of his ministers emphasized that Greece would stick to its so-called red lines in talks with international creditors.

By Sharon R Smyth, Nikos Chrysoloras and Paul Tugwell

Greece will proceed with the sale of stakes in strategic assets such as the port of Piraeus and 14 regional airports this year, according to Greek officials with direct knowledge of the matter.

Much of central Athens was cordoned off on Friday as labor union members gathered for demonstrations to mark Labor Day with banners expressing continued opposition to austerity.

Former German FM Joschka Fischer, whose European leftist credentials are more-or-less without question, delves into the “could have”, “should have” debate swirling around Greece’s ruling SYRIZA party, given that the Greek government appears to have entered the “final stretch” in negotiations to clinch at least a bailout plan extension.

Cracks along the envisioned “southern European” leftist front appeared on its western end this week, with the leader of Spain’s Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, announced on Thursday that one of the anti-austerity bloc’s co-founders, Juan Carlos Monedero, had resigned from a leading post.

By Esteban Duarte & Ben Sills

The euro area risks fueling extremist nationalist groups with its hard-line approach to negotiations with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, according to the Greek premier?s Spanish ally, Pablo Iglesias.