New Democracy

By Marcus Bensasson

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras entered the two-week countdown to Jan. 25 elections with opinion polls showing he has so far failed to narrow the lead held by his main opponent, Alexis Tsipras of Syriza.

By Prokopis Hatzinikolaou

With less than two weeks to go until critical snap elections, political parties are to ratchet up their rhetoric following a weekend of vehement campaigning that included Prime Minister Antonis Samaras pledging a series of tax cuts as part of a ?roadmap for a post-bailout Greece.?

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is on Saturday to unveil a ?national plan for growth and reforms? in a bid to indicate that his administration is the best bet for security and improved prospects and attract more undecided voters ahead of critical snap polls on January 25.

Greece's main political parties on Friday began unveiling their candidate lists for the January 25 elections, with some of the nominations causing friction between governing coalition partners New Democracy and PASOK as well within the ranks of leftist opposition SYRIZA.

Aris Siliotopoulos (photo), a former New Democracy minister and MP who gave up his seat in Parliament to run in May's local elections for Athens mayor, said on Friday that he will not be running on the conservative ticket in the January 25 general elections.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras promised Thursday that if he is re-elected he will not cut pensions or wages further and will give back more in the way of tax cuts and salary increases.

Speaking in Maroussi, northern Athens, Samaras focused on the fact that Greece?s public finances are back on track and that this would soon lead to a better standard of living for Greeks.

Opinion polls show that Greek oppositional party SYRIZA is firmly in the lead before the early parliamentary elections that are to take place on January 25.

The ruling party of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras New Democracy comes second in the polls, Ekathimerini daily reports.

By Costas Iordanidis

Former Prime Minister George Papandreou did not surprise anyone by launching a new political movement three weeks before general elections. While the Papandreou clan has been known for leading developments and altering the Greek political stage, this may not necessarily be the case.

Deputy Prime Minister and PASOK chief Evangelos Venizelos expressed his disappointment with his coalition partner, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, on Thursday following an announcement that socialist Deputy Culture Minister Angela Gerekou will running on the conservative ticket at the upcoming elections of January 25.