Feuding Greek leaders united by desire to avoid blame

Reuters
February 7, 2012

With the eyes of an impatient Europe on them, Greece's feuding leaders are united by a desire to avoid blame for the harsh austerity required to save their country from a catastrophic default.

Analysts say that despite their posturing, the leaders of the conservative New Democracy party, the centre-left PASOK socialists and the far-right LAOS nationalists, which back Lucas Papademos' government, will ultimately accept the bailout terms demanded by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to avert chaos.

But some want to dump the internationally respected Papademos and revert to politics as usual as soon as the money is in the bank, while others want to keep him in office for tactical reasons.

Antonis Samaras, 60, New Democracy's leader, is battling to distance himself from unpopular austerity measures and trying to force an early general election shortly after a planned March bailout while his party is ahead in the polls.

"A very important consideration in his movements and calculations is his great desire to become the next prime minister," said Theodore Couloumbis, professor of international relations at the University of Athens.

"The last thing he wants is to be blamed for an unruly default for Greece, whose consequence would be an exit from the euro zone and later from the EU."

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