Zoe Constantopoulou

A new poll published Tuesday suggested that the government's popularity is drying up, as it gave opposition New Democracy a 24-point lead over ruling SYRIZA.

A new opinion poll whose results were made public on Saturday put conservative New Democracy 7.1 percentage points ahead of leftist SYRIZA and saw the latter's coalition partner Independent Greeks (ANEL) and centrist Potami failing to enter Parliament.

Former Parliament speaker and leader of the Sailing for Freedom party, Zoe Constantopoulou, announced the creation on Tuesday of a special body to "monitor and facilitate" high-profile court cases involving the state and intervene with the submission of relevant evidence to ensure that the tenets of the Greek Constitution are upheld.

An unprecedented war of words has broken out between Greece's outgoing government, the parliament chief and the president over early elections likely to be held on September 20.

International media reactions were quick after a decision by Greek PM Alexis Tsipras to call snap elections in Greece, given that a mini “insurrection” by more than a quarter of his MPs means he lost his Parliamentary majority.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Tuesday evening again appeared on national television, not to make a proclamation or to promote a specific answer to any referendum, but this time to answer questions by two presenters on the state-run broadcaster (ERT) dealing with the whirlwind developments surrounding the “Greek euro crisis” over the recent period.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras won backing from lawmakers on July 11 for painful reform proposals aimed at obtaining a new international bailout, but he faced a rebellion in his own party that could threaten his majority in parliament. 

Greece’s president of the republic, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, is expected to sign a decree allowing for a referendum next Sunday allowing voters to vote on the last proposal supposedly tabled by creditors to the radical leftist government.

Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras is willing to appear before Parliament?s institutions committee following the panel?s decision to summon him to testify in connection with the Siemens cash-for-contracts scandal but not on Monday, as requested, because emergency talks on Greece will require him to be on standby, sources close to Stournaras indicated over the weekend.

By Maria Katsounaki

Amid the numerous Facebook tributes to Yanis Varoufakis, one shows a photoshopped image of the Greek finance minister clad in regal garb, with the page?s creators inviting citizens to rally in Syntagma Square on December 31 and proclaim him the new king of Greece.