SYRIZA

It is in the national interest to resolve the FYROM naming issue at long last. Unfortunately for SYRIZA, the national interest does not coincide with its divisive politics.

In an exclusive interview with To Vima on Sunday, Alavanos unleashes vitriolic criticism of his former protégé and of the party he now leads as the most poisonous enemy of the Greek Left,

ND now has a whopping 16.5 percentage point lead – 38.5 percent versus SYRIZA’s 22 percent - in voter intention in the poll, which was conducted between 6 November and 11 November .

The budget again reflects the strategy of the government of overreaching primary surplus targets, allowing for a bit of generosity towards targeted social groups, with an eye to the next general election.

Party sources say that those efforts will have the exactly opposite result, to rally the base of the Movement for Change, which appears ready for a frontal confrontation with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

The ruling party, dominated by ideological fixations and other inhibitions, did not manage to exploit the structural adjustment that was achieved during the years of the crisis.

Papantoniou was a top minister in the two governments of then Pasok leader Kostas Simitis. He is the second defence minister appointed by Simitis that has been jailed (in Papantoniou’s case, pending trial) over defence contract kickbacks, the first being Akis Tsochatzopoulos.

Today, state minister and government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos declared in an interview with Real FM radio that the government has the parliamentary votes necessary to complete its four year term,

The charges of former Corruption Crimes Prosecutor Eleni Raikou reveal the breadth of raw governmental meddling in the judiciary

At the 14 October party meeting, Polakis said, “The judiciary must expedite what it is doing. We cannot continue with high culture. We cannot let this happen, and we are not, but we must push more, and that must be clear in our rhetoric.”

It is historically unprecedented for a prime minister to call upon his ministers to vow not to topple the government, in this case over the Greece-FYROM Prespa Agreement.

SYRIZA ministers have said that, even without Kammenos, the government can muster an absolute majority both for ratification of the Prespa Agreement, and for a possible no-confidence motion by main opposition New Democracy.

Defence Minister Panos Kammenos assumed the mantle of foreign minister and presented his own plan for a Balkan alliance, supported by creating new American bases in Greece.

As long as the government walks the tightrope between electoral handouts and ensuring economic stability, there is a growing danger that the country will face a new impasse.

You feed the public with an alleged “clean hands” approach, even as you are setting up new vested interests

The poll gives New Democracy 31.5 percent, compared to 22 percent for SYRIZA, followed by extreme right Golden Dawn with seven percent, 6.5 percent for the centre-left Movement for Change, and the Greek Communist Party (KKE) with 5.5 percent.

“The conclusion of the Prespa Agreement opens new possibilities for political and economic cooperation on a bilateral and regional level, and offers a positive message to all of Europe,” Papadimoulis said.