MacroPolis

Athens pleased with Brussels appointments but new Commissioner faces big task

11/09/2014 - 13:51

Positive news from Brussels has been somewhat of a rarity for Greece over the last few years but the government appears totally satisfied with the make-up of the new European Commission after it was confirmed on Wednesday that outgoing Defense Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos would take over the newly created portfolio of immigration and home affairs.

DIMAR's collapse continues, leaving doubts about presidential vote and centre-left

09/09/2014 - 16:41

The decline of former coalition partner Democratic Left (DIMAR) continued on Tuesday when MP Spyros Lykoudis, one of the party’s leading figures, announced he is quitting to become an independent lawmaker.

Samaras tax cut pledges aimed at MPs rather than voters

08/09/2014 - 09:35

Greece is no different from other countries in that when prime ministers announce tax cuts it is usually to win over voters before elections. However, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s pledge on Saturday to reduce taxes was a little different: It was aimed at preventing elections.

PASOK marks 40th anniversary by baring its split personality

03/09/2014 - 12:10

PASOK’s rapid decline from a party that garnered almost 45 percent of the vote in late 2009 appears not to be over yet, with a deep internal rift threatening to split the Socialists – now polling at less than 10 percent – in two.

Samaras seeks late summer boost from talks with troika in Paris

01/09/2014 - 15:15

The brief summer lull in Greek politics is due to end this week with the meeting of coalition ministers and troika representatives in Paris due to begin on Tuesday. Although the talks will focus on technical issues, these carry high political significance in Greece.

Samaras, Tsipras under pressure to deliver on plans for economic policy

29/08/2014 - 23:12

The government has built up expectations regarding Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's economic policy speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) on Saturday, September 6 but the political tone for the weeks to come may be set by SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras's address a week later.

Coalition warms to option of Kouvelis as president but success not guaranteed

26/08/2014 - 14:25

Democratic Left (DIMAR) leader Fotis Kouvelis is emerging as the clear frontrunner in the coalition’s thinking on who it should nominate to be the next president of Greece, when incumbent Karolos Papoulias’s term ends in February.

New Democracy risks losing moderates with move for right-wing alliance

22/08/2014 - 16:00

New Democracy’s attempt to form a broad right-wing alliance designed to prevent SYRIZA winning the next elections has had a mixed response so far but the most important reaction could yet be the one from within the party itself.

Worsening EU-Russia ties leave Greek coalition in precarious position

21/08/2014 - 14:51

The European Union’s deteriorating relationship with Russia has placed the Greek government in an increasingly difficult position and opened it up to criticism from SYRIZA.

Independent Greeks to go it alone rather than join grand right-wing alliance

19/08/2014 - 20:18

A few days after the prospect of an alliance between New Democracy and ultranationalist LAOS was floated, the possibility of even broader cooperation among right wing parties in Greece has been nipped in the bud.