Politics
SYRIZA shows keener interest in foreign policy as possible elections near
Seeing the government close to buckling under the pressure of having to meet the troika's targets, SYRIZA's Alexis Tsipras chose to inflict his own kind of pain on Wednesday, when he claimed that a leftist government would not be bound by the demands made by Greece's lenders.
Troika piles pressure on coalition by insisting on key actions to conclude review
The size of the government’s task in concluding the current troika review within the next few weeks was revealed on Tuesday, with 19 prior actions – many of which entail major reforms – still having to be completed.
Cairo Declaration inches Greece closer to hydrocarbons goal
Greece, Cyprus and Egypt sealed on Saturday a significant agreement to enhance their cooperation, including in the all-important energy sector.
Greek coalition left with bailout exit conditions it wanted to avoid
Eurozone finance ministers have agreed that Greece should be given a precautionary credit line when the European part of its bailout is completed at the end of the year but the new agreement will entail new conditionality, a role for the International Monetary Fund and debt relief talks being put at the back burner – all factors that the coalition wanted to avoid for domestic reasons.
No prospect of compromise for entrenched Greek parties
There will be no meeting of political leaders in Greece to discuss bailout exit plans, debt relief or anything else despite a spate of meetings between party chiefs and President Karolos Papoulias, the only figure that has the authority to convene such talks.
Samaras and Tsipras prepared to go toe to toe all the way to February
In true pre-election mode, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and SYRIZA’s Alexis Tsipras attempted to outdo each other on Monday after they each held separate talks with President Karolos Papoulias, the figure who has found himself at the centre of political developments in Greece.
![Photo by Myrto Papadopoulos [www.myrtopapadopoulos.com]](resources/toolip/img-thumb/2013/11/14/syntagma_1000_myrto_1411-medium.jpg "Photo by Myrto Papadopoulos [www.myrtopapadopoulos.com]")
With troika review pending, Greek bailout exit plan faces time challenge
With the clock ticking on Greece's plan to exit its troika bailout at the end of the year, the status of the current review of the Greek programme remains unclear.
After ECB tests, it's back to troika review for Greek coalition
After Greek banks passed the European Central Bank’s comprehensive assessment, which alleviated previous concerns about the Hellenic Financial Stability Facility (HFSF) capital buffer of 11.4 billion euros remaining intact, the next key challenge for the government is the ongoing negotiations with the troika.
ECB results light up path for Greek coalition's bailout exit plan
After a series of knock-backs in recent weeks, the coalition received its first boost for some time on Sunday when the European Central Bank’s stress tests revealed that Greeks lenders could need as little as 18 million euros in new capital.
SYRIZA's weak foreign, defence policy credentials a vulnerability
With all the focus falling on its economic policies, little attention has been paid to where SYRIZA stands on defence and foreign policy. With Greece potentially just a few months away from early elections and a change of government, there are few questions being asked about the leftist party’s ability to handle such sensitive policy areas.