Greek government, troika reach agreement on Greek bailout

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Kevin Lees

It seems all but done — Greece’s government and the ‘troika’ of the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission have reached an agreement on the latest disbursement of funds that Greece needs to finance government operations, in exchange for a series of budget cuts and labor market reforms.  In an additional [...]

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Who is Yiannis Stournaras?

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Kevin Lees

After a rough start for Greece’s newly inaugurated center-right government — Greece’s new prime minister Antonis Samaras remains immobilized from an emergency eye surgery over the weekend and his first pick for finance minister (Vassilis Rapanos, the head of the National Bank of Greece) resigned after falling ill last Friday — it looks like Greece [...]

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No country for old men

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Kevin Lees

It’s not been the best week for the new Greek government. Later this week, the key decision-makers of the European Union will be engaged in the latest attempt at ending the eurozone’s crisis at a conference in Rome. But the new Greek prime minister won’t be there. And neither will his finance minister, a post that [...]

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Samaras pieces together coalition after ND places first in Greek election

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Kevin Lees

The rest of the eurozone — indeed, the rest of the world — may have breathed a sigh of relief Sunday when it turned out that the pro-bailout parties appeared likely to secure a majority of the seats in the second of two highly divisive parliamentary elections in Greece. As shown above, New Democracy (Νέα Δημοκρατία) [...]

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Post-’Spailout’ climate pulls Samaras even closer to SYRIZA’s position

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Kevin Lees

As the second Greek legislative campaign in as many months winds down for Sunday’s vote, it is becoming difficult to spot the difference between the leaders of the two parties most likely to win. Oh what a difference a month can make. Antonis Samaras, leader of the center-right New Democracy (Νέα Δημοκρατία), has been moving toward [...]

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New Greek elections imminent amid alarm over potential euro exit

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Kevin Lees

With each of the top three leaders exhausting their mandate to form a government following the May 6 Greek elections, and with Greek president Karolos Papoulias failing in his attempt to bring party leaders together to form a caretaker, technocratic government of non-political leaders, Greece will head to the polls again in June, as concern swept [...]

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June Greek elections now almost certain

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Kevin Lees

Here’s your Monday update on the Greek coalition talks. All three of the top party leaders have been unable to form a government, and President Karolos Papoulias, over the weekend, has been unable to bring the top leaders together to join a unity government. New elections, likely to be held June 17, are now all but [...]

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Kouvelis refuses to join unity Greek government without SYRIZA; Samaras attacks Tsipras

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Kevin Lees

So the latest in the Greek drama over forming a coalition government is vaguely predictable. Yesterday’s signs of an early breakthrough between PASOK (under the leadership of Evangelos Venizelos) and the Democratic Left (under the leadership of Fotis Kouvelis) crumbled today after it became clear that Kouvelis’s idea of a unity government must include the [...]

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Who is Fotis Kouvelis?

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Kevin Lees

With Fotis Kouvelis, the head of Greece’s Democratic Left (Δημοκρατική Αριστερά), the most moderate of the three vaguely anti-bailout leftist groups to thrive in Sunday’s election, now in discussions with Evangelos Venizelos, the former finance minister and the leader of center-left PASOK, to form a national unity government, the center spotlight of Greek — and European [...]

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Venizelos gets the mandate, but new elections still probable in Greece

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Kevin Lees

UPDATE, 2:45 pm ET: After Venizelos (left) met with Kouvelis (right) earlier today, it appears that Greece is a bit closer to forming a governing coalition, although it remains unclear to me which parties would join such a unity coalition: “The moment of truth is approaching for everyone,” said Kouvelis, who has so far had [...]

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Expect a Samaris / Tsipras showdown if Greece holds new June elections

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Kevin Lees

Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the leftist SYRIZA (the Coalition of the Radical Left — Συνασπισμός Ριζοσπαστικής Αριστεράς) has not yet concluded that he cannot form a government, but it seems increasingly unlikely.  If he fails, Evangelos Venizelos, the former finance minister and leader of PASOK (Panhellenic Socialist Movement – Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα) will yet have an [...]

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Greek election results: Samaras and ND to have first chance to form government

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Kevin Lees

A day after an election that scrambled Greek — and potentially, European — politics, party leaders are surveying the new reality of Greek parliamentary politics in search of a workable governing coalition. The center-right New Democracy (Νέα Δημοκρατία), which finished in first place, and which accordingly won the greatest number of seats in the Hellenic [...]

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Greek election results: New Democracy leads, far-left SYRIZA in second, PASOK in third

Posted on May 6, 2012 by Kevin Lees

As French voters celebrate the election of a new president in leftist François Hollande, Greek voters returned a muddier verdict in its own election on Sunday, with returns that show the most fragmented Greek electorate in Greece’s postwar history, as voters have abandoned both of Greece’s two major parties, in a rebuke of the bailout that [...]

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A guide to potential Greek coalitions (or, how we might end up with a second election)

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Kevin Lees

Although Greek elections have only this week been set for May 6, speculation is already rising that the vote will result in no viable coalition. The two traditional parties of Greek politics since 1974 have been the center-right’s New Democracy (Νέα Δημοκρατία) and the center-left’s Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα), or PASOK.  But polls leading up to [...]

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Greek election date set for May 6

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Kevin Lees

We (finally) have a date for the Greek parliamentary elections: May 6. Under the Greek election system, which will be conducted under a new 2007 electoral law, 250 of the 300 seats in the Hellenic Parliament will be awarded on the basis of proportional representation (only if the national tally exceeds 3% of the total vote, [...]

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