February 5, 2012
Greece's economic future hung in the balance on Sunday as the debt-laden country's technocrat prime minister, Lucas Papademos, met party leaders in a last-ditch effort to rally support for the stringent reforms Athens must enact in return for aid.
With at least one political leader in the coalition government publicly refusing to endorse the rescue package, it was far from sure whether Papademos would win the backing to keep bankruptcy at bay.
Before the meeting, the Greek finance minister, Evangelos Venizelos, described negotiations with foreign lenders as being "on a razor's edge". To avert a disorderly default Greece must secure financial support by 20 March when it faces €14.5bn (£12bn) of loan repayments.
"The moment is very crucial," Venizelos said after emerging from 12 hours of "tough" talks with officials representing the EU, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the "troika" propping up the near-insolvent Greek economy.
"Crucial issues which concern the future of the country and the Greek people remain [unresolved]. The distance separating the procedure being completed with success from stalemate … is very small. It's a very fine line. We are on a razor's edge," he said.
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