Politics
Greece's 2016 diplomatic agenda begins with talks on Cyprus and name issue
United Nations Special Adviser on Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide made the first official visit of 2016 to the Greek Foreign Ministry last week for talks with Nikos Kotzias, perhaps indicating that the Cyprus issue will be one of Athens’s priorities in the months to come.
Mitsotakis sets out on long haul to revive New Democracy while keeping internal balance
Following his surprising victory in Sunday’s leadership election, New Democracy president Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who garnered 173,297 votes (52.43 percent), begins from Tuesday the task of overhauling his party.
Mitsotakis win gives New Democracy chance for renewal but creates fresh risks
Kyriakos Mitsotakis scored a surprise victory in New Democracy’s election contest on Sunday by beating off competition from favourite Evangelos Meimarakis.
New Democracy counts down to Sunday's leadership vote
New Democracy will have a new leader by Sunday night, with veteran Evangelos Meimarakis seen as the favourite to edge out former administrative reform minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in the ballot.
Gov't mounts defence of pension plan but lenders' approval may take time
Having spent the last few days on the defensive after releasing its proposals for the overhaul of the pension system, the government has decided to actively defend its plan both at home and abroad.
Candidates vie for votes as New Democracy leadership race enters final stretch
New Democracy’s protracted leadership race has entered its final stretch ahead of Sunday’s run-off vote between interim leader Evangelos Meimarakis and former administrative reform minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Pension overhaul poses political challenge despite avoiding immediate cuts
The government presented its pension reform proposals to the opposition parties on Monday but got short shrift from them despite the fact that the plan does not contain any immediate direct cuts to pensions.
Opposition party leader Leventis a coalition partner-in-waiting?
Government officials continue to court Vassilis Leventis, the head of the small opposition party, the Union of Centrists, a potential ally if the coalition’s slim majority is tested by the challenging reforms that lie ahead.
Coalition wants to push own bills through as well as negotiate with lenders
The focus of the Greek government’s negotiations with its lenders is expected to move quickly to the three key issues that need to be resolved in view of the upcoming first review but the coalition appears insistent that it will also pass its own legislation in the coming weeks.
Vote on same-sex civil unions reveals common ground and divisions
Apart from being an important moment in terms of Greece aligning its civil rights with European Union norms, the passing of a bill on same-sex civil unions on Tuesday night also revealed some significant political fault lines.