New Democracy

Former Prime Minister and New Democracy Honorary Chairman Constantinos Mitsotakis expresses his disappointment in a decision Monday by the coalition government to move forward presidential elections by two months in an interview with state-run Vouli television, due to be broadcast on Thursday, Kathimerini has learned.

SYRIZA MP Yiannis Micheloyiannakis, who announced on Saturday that he was going on hunger strike in solidarity with Syrian refugees protesting outside the Greek Parliament in Athens, responded to criticism after he was seen leaving the protest site to have coffee at a nearby establishment.

Greece insisted on Thursday that it is only examining the option of extending its bailout for a few weeks rather than months despite some eurozone countries declaring their support for a six-month prolongation at Thursday’s meeting of the Euro Working Group in Brussels.

Independent Greeks leader Panos Kammenos gave evidence on Thursday before prosecutor Panayiotis Panayiotopoulos regarding the party’s latest accusations regarding bribery of MPs.

“The justice system must be allowed, without interference, to complete its investigation,” he said after leaving the prosecutor’s office.

A committee of New Democracy MPs asked by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to propose changes to the Greek Constitution suggested Tuesday that the number of lawmakers in Parliament should be reduced from 300 to 200 and that the president of the republic should be given greater powers.

The election of the president by popular mandate, the abolition of MPs' immunity from prosecution and the reduction of the number of deputies serving in Parliament are but some of the proposals put together by a New Democracy committee for constitutional reform.

Former cabinet secretary Panayiotis Baltakos, ousted from government earlier this year when it was revealed he had held a secret meeting with Golden Dawn, is to form his own party.

Baltakos, who had been one of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s closest aides, said that the new party would be called Rizes (Roots).

SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras repeated his call for early elections on Saturday, accusing the government of being poised to beat a retreat in its negotiations with the troika.

The man at the heart of allegations that he tried to bribe an Independent Greeks MP on Friday denied any connection with New Democracy.

Giorgos Soukouras has been accused by lawmaker Stavroula Xoulidou (photo) of calling her and contacting her via Facebook to tempt her to vote for the government’s presidential candidate in February in return for up to 3 million euros.

Seven PASOK MPs on Thursday publicly backed Deputy Prime Minister Evangelos Venizelos and his plans for the party to play a leading role in a broader center-left alliance after ex-leader George Papandreou declared his opposition to the plan and called for an emergency congress followed by a confidence vote.