PASOK

The first of possibly three presidential ballots will take place on Wednesday evening, with the government expecting its candidate, Stavros Dimas, to receive at least 161 of 300 MPs’ votes, which will be well short of the 200 needed to be elected but a basis for the coalition to work from for the final ballot on December 29, when 180 votes will be required.

A new poll published on Tuesday, a day before Greek lawmakers start the first round of crucial voting to determine whether Parliament will elect a new president or whether the country will head to general elections, showed opposition SYRIZA gaining a 4.9 percent lead over New Democracy, the larger of the two parties co-governing Greece.

The crisis did not come without warning. Former Premier Costas Karamanlis knew serious fiscal measures were needed in spring 2009 to avoid bankruptcy but failed to act due to electoral concerns. George Papandreou refused Karamanlis’s offer to reach a consensus in March 2009, triggering snap elections.

A new opinion poll by Kapa Research shows that the gap between SYRIZA and New Democracy is closing.

Published in Sunday’s To Vima newspaper, the survey puts support for SYRIZA at 25.5 percent, followed by 22.7 percent for New Democracy.

This means that the difference between the two parties has narrowed from 3.6 percent to 2.8 percent over the last month.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is set to reject any attempts for a last-minute deal between the government and the opposition over the election of Stavros Dimas as president, preferring instead to go to snap elections if the coalition fails to get the minimum 180 votes needed on December 29.

Sources close to ex-Prime Minister George Papandreou have confirmed that he is seeking a new and active role in Greek politics but that he has not yet decided to form his own party to run in snap elections, preferring instead for a president to be elected this month and a government of “national understanding” to be formed.

Deputy Prime Minister Evangelos Venizelos sparked further doubt Friday about George Papandreou’s future in PASOK by suggesting that he no longer considers the former prime minister part of the party.

PASOK chief Evangelos Venizelos on Friday shrugged off at suggestions made the previous day by his predecessor at the helm of the socialist party George Papandreou that he might form his own political movement if Greece heads to early elections.

Former Prime Minister George Papandreou caused consternation in his party, PASOK, on Thursday when he strayed from the Socialist line and called for a new government to be formed if a president is elected this month, while suggesting that he might form his own political movement if Greece heads to snap elections instead.

Democratic Left (DIMAR) on Tuesday said that it will not be backing the coalition government's candidate for president in three Parliamentary votes expected to start next week.

The party, which split from the coalition last year, said in an announcement that it will not contribute to "the protraction of the political deadlocks being pursued by the present government."