Gabriel Sakellaridis

Greece’s snap elections on Sept. 20 and an apparent slump in the ratings of previously unassailable radical leftist leader Alexis Tsipras continued to generate foreign press coverage at the beginning of the week.

In an incredibly example of “political expediency” on Monday, top ruling SYRIZA minister Nikos Voutsis appeared on television and essentially said that if his party is not re-elected to government then its deputies will not back the memorandum his outgoing government recently signed!

Statfor Global Intelligence think tank cites the risks involved in the decision of the Greek PM Alexis Tsipras to old snap election in September. The report likens Greece’s predicament with that of the Greek mythological figure of Sisyphus, who was condemned to roll a boulder up a hill for punishment, only to watch it roll down again, repeating the action for eternity.

PM Alexis Tsipras announced a Greek government reshuffle on Friday afternoon, expected since an earlier vote in Parliament this week, replacing “dissident” minister Panagiotis Lafazanis with MP Panos Skourletis at the production reconstruction ministry.

The EU reforms passed through Greek Parliament at dawn on Thursday have caused deep rifts between Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) government members. 39 of the party’s MPs distanced themselves from the government’s policies with 32 voting “No”, 6 voting “Present” and one abstention.

Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) government spokesperson Gabriel Sakellaridis said that “Yanis Varoufakis as Finance Minister played a leading role in the negotiations (with creditors from the EC, ECB and IMF) from the first day of the government.

Partial results from Sunday's referendum in Greece indicate voters have rejected the terms of a bailout-for-reforms deal proposed by the country's international creditors.

With over 30% of the votes counted, rejection of the bailout terms by a 'No' vote stood at 60%, while 40% had voted 'Yes' to accept the agreement put forward by creditors on 25 June.

The ‘no’ in the Greek referendum has taken an early lead as 60% of the first count gave the Greek radical left coalition government a mandate to reject international creditors’ reforms. If the trend continues, then Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will reject the creditors compromise proposal.

Hopes were high Tuesday that Greece and its creditors can seal a debt deal in the exactly one week left to avert default, but those could fade as the Greek premier must convince his anti-austerity party to approve concessions needed to unblock bailout funds.

By Theophilos Argitis & Marcus Bensasson

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras turned Tuesday to shoring up support at home for his plan to end a five-month standoff with creditors that has brought his nation to the edge of default.