Politics of Greece

The government on Tuesday sought to douse growing speculation about Democratic Left (DIMAR) leader Fotis Kouvelis being lined up as a nominee for the Greek presidency as lawmakers from the coalition and opposition parties continued to fuel the debate by expressing their preferences on a successor for incumbent Karolos Papoulias, whose term expires in February.

A meeting between Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and Deputy Premier Evangelos Venizelos on Wednesday evening is expected to result in the government settling on its negotiating strategy for the talks coalition representatives are due to hold with the troika in Paris at the beginning of September.

Independent MP Vassilis Kapernaros said on Tuesday that he would not vote for any candidate the government puts forward early next year to succeed President Karolos Papoulias.

The coalition on Monday attempted to play down Sunday Kathimerini’s report that Democratic Left (DIMAR) leader Fotis Kouvelis is being lined up as a nominee for the Greek presidency but at the same time government officials expressed support for the idea of the 65-year-old leftist succeeding Karolos Papoulias early next year.

Amid reports that Democratic Left (DIMAR) leader Fotis Kouvelis is likely to be the coalition’s nominee for the Greek presidency, a leading figure in the party has said he would be an appropriate choice.

Greece’s coalition leaders appear set to nominate Fotis Kouvelis, leader of the small Democratic Left (DIMAR) party, as their candidate for the country’s next president after Karolos Papoulias’s tenure expires in February, Kathimerini understands.

Administrative Reform Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed opposition on Friday to New Democracy’s apparent plans to bring back into the fold politicians who had left the party in the past and went on to be part of what he termed “populist” parties.

Education Minister Andreas Loverdos officially returned to PASOK on Friday less than two years after leaving the party.

PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos confirmed that Loverdos would join the party’s parliamentary group in a letter to Parliament Speaker Evangelos Meimarakis.

By Costas Iordanidis

It finally seemed as if we had found some peace of mind. The vast majority of Greek MPs chose to abstain from festivities on August 15, also known as Assumption Day, thus sparing us from the cacophony of vacuous political statements in the midst of the summer season.

The repercussions of a Russian food embargo on Greek producers, and some 20 to 30 million euros in anticipated compensation from the European Commission, were the focus of talks on Tuesday under Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Kourkoulas.