New Greek PM to miss crucial EU summit as he recovers from eye operation

Antonis Samaras underwent surgery for a detached retina yesterday, just three days after being sworn in as the head of a coalition government.

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Greek PM cannot attend EU summit due to surgery

Greece's new Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will not be well enough to travel to a critical European Union summit in Brussels after undergoing an eye operation.

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Greek prime minister cannot attend EU summit due to eye surgery, will send ...

The Guardian

Greek prime minister cannot attend EU summit due to eye surgery, will send ... Washington Post ATHENS, Greece — Greece's new Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will not be well enough to travel to a critical European Union summit in Brussels after undergoing an eye operation, the government said Sunday. Samaras, 61, underwent surgery for a detached ... Greek PM cannot attend EU summit due to surgeryThe Associated Press Greek PM and finance minister to miss key EU summit due to health problemsThe Guardian Greek PM Samaras to miss EU summit following surgeryBBC News Reuters all 1,306 news articles »

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Newsmaker: Greek conservative's path to power marked by U-turns

Telegraph.co.uk

Newsmaker: Greek conservative's path to power marked by U-turns Reuters By Matt Robinson | ATHENS (Reuters) - First he voted against an international bailout, then for it, and now he says he wants to change it. Greece's euro zone partners could be forgiven for wondering what to expect next from Antonis Samaras, ... Greece's Samaras Sworn in as Prime MinisterWall Street Journal After Weeks in Limbo, Greece Ushers In New GovernmentNew York Times Antonis Samaras takes over as Greek prime ministerWashington Post CNN International -ABC News all 1,740 news articles »

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Interview: 'There is a deep need for reform'

The latest elections are the last chance for Greece’s established political parties, says former Greek Foreign Minister, Dimitrios Droutsas, in a DW-interview. He calls for a reconstruction of the state apparatus.

What next for ailing Greece after vote?

Greece is at the heart of the European debt crisis -- and the weekend election was a critical test of the eurozone's ability to retain its common currency. CNN experts analyse what the result means.

What's next for ailing Greece?

Greece has been at the heart of the European debt crisis -- and its weekend election was a critical test of the 17-country eurozone's ability to retain its common currency.
The pro-bailout New Democracy party narrowly won most votes and claimed "a victory for all Europe," while the anti-austerity left-wing party Syriza a close second; the socialist Pasok party, which held power until late last year, came third.

Greek Pro-Bailout Parties Seen Taking Majority, Projection Shows

Greek Pro-Bailout Parties Seen Taking Majority, Projection Shows San Francisco Chronicle Click on TOP CRIS for more on the euro crisis.) June 17 (Bloomberg) -- Greece's largest pro-bailout parties, New Democracy and Pasok, won enough seats to ... Greek Socialist leader calls for broad coalitionReuters all 22 news articles »

Greek election makes passions run high

Many Greeks are opting for parties they would never normally consider, while others have travelled from as far as the US

As Greeks began pouring into polling booths I got an anxious telephone call from an acquaintance. The night before he had told me of his surprise decision to support the far-left Syriza party, a vote he would not have contemplated at any other time. It wasn't just him but his entire family and most of his friends. All traditional conservatives, they had decided to throw their weight behind Syriza and its young leader, Alexis Tsipras, on the grounds that after years of corrupt establishment rule, with rightists and leftists swinging in and out of government, Greece had got nowhere. "But I beseech you not to mention my name," he said. "This is a revanchist society. I don't want any trouble, and if he wins and doesn't come up with the goods, starting with punishing the old corrupt elite, I'm off."

Few elections have been as electric as this. Faced with the magnitude of what is at stake – the debt-stricken country's future in the euro and ability to withstand more austerity – Greeks are not taking the poll lightly. Throughout the day I have been struck by how voters have agonised over which way to cast ballots. The number of elderly Greeks who have turned up at polling stations dressed in their Sunday best has been impressive. I saw several assisted by relatives, often with walking stick in hand, as they arrived at booths.

"My father insisted on going even though he is 93 and is not now required to vote," said Apostolos Apolamis. "But he wouldn't tell me which way he voted, just that it was important."

Countless Greeks have flown in from overseas. Maria Koundoura, an academic based in Boston, flew in to vote for the first time. "It's vital that Greece gets a government and stability is restored," she said after casting her ballot in her ancestral village outside the northern city of Serres. "Many of my [Greek] colleagues teaching in the USA have flown in. We all care about what happens here. Personally, I have voted for the Democratic Left party because it has said it will do everything to ensure a government is formed and will also put social issues, the cost of austerity, high on the agenda."

Precisely because passions are running so high, the election has been a minefield to report. Mention of some of my own friends swinging to the right raised howls of protests from readers. Many thought it disgraceful that I should choose to "back" the pro-European New Democracy party in such a way – after all, wasn't the conservative party, or indeed any party of the old order, pushing an agenda that was all about retaining privileges?

But the mention was really a way of highlighting the fear that has gripped Greeks who have been assaulted by a barrage of "Drachmageddon" scenarios promulgated mostly by EU leaders prevailing on voters not to elect an anti-austerity government that would push the country out of the eurozone.

After more than two years of crushing austerity, with pay packets and pensions down by as much as 50%, a huge slice of society is desperate. They are backing Syriza, which has vowed to radically renegotiate the terms of the EU-IMF rescue package propping up the bankrupt Greek economy, not because they have nothing to lose but because it is the only party that really does offer the hope its slogan proclaims.

Emotions are also running high among politicians. The office of George Papandreou, Greece's former prime minister, was most put out by the suggestion – erroneously made in the standfirst added to my write-up of an interview with him for the Guardian – that he was supporting his longtime political rival, the New Democrat leader Antonis Samaras (which of course isn't true). In a letter to the Guardian, a senior aide wrote that the slip-up had "created immense confusion among Pasok voters just hours before the polls open. Indeed, many Greek blogs today are reporting the Guardian interview with the title: Papandreou is supporting Samaras!"

The office went so far as to release an audio clip of the interview between myself and Papandreou to highlight its point. The paper of course issued a correction. But journalism is a balancing act, and never more so than at this momentous time for Greece.

• Greek elections 2012
• Greece
• Europe

Helena Smith

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Greek election may decide future in eurozone

In most critical balloting in 40 years Greeks hit hard by debt crisis will choose between austerity and a return to the drachma

Greece confronts its future – and recoils in fear

As Greeks prepare to vote in the most important election in their history in two days' time, people in Athens fear they are facing a future full of uncertainty, poverty and violence. Well-publicised crimes help create an atmosphere of violence as the wealthy and vulnerable immigrants alike come under attack. In one incident this week two robbers armed with a gun and a knife took over the house of a shipping tycoon in the well-guarded suburb of Kifisia in north Athens. Evading all security measures, such as high walls, guards and CCTV cameras, they tied up his staff and stole a fortune in cash and jewels before escaping.

All eyes on Tsipras as ballot looms large

Alexis Tsipras, the radical Greek leftist who has been making waves and headlines both inside and outside the financially troubled Greek landscape, is still an uknown quantity for some.

Born into a comfortable middle class family, Tsipras has a post-graduate degree in engineering but worked only briefly in construction before turning to full-time politics and being handed the Syriza party leadership four years ago.

RPT-Greek radical Tsipras is no working class hero

The Guardian

RPT-Greek radical Tsipras is no working class hero Reuters * Greek leftist leader vows to cancel Greek bailout * Tsipras running neck and neck in Sunday vote * Questions over his leadership skills remain By Dina Kyriakidou ATHENS, June 13 (Reuters) - Alexis Tsipras, the radical Greek leftist who wants to ... Greek voters headed back to the pollsUSA TODAY Francois Hollande warns Greeks vote could see them exit EuroEconomic Times Greek crisis hits hard at the pharmacyWashington Post Wall Street Journal -The Associated Press -BusinessWeek all 994 news articles »

Greek radical Tsipras is no working class hero

New York Times

Greek radical Tsipras is no working class hero Reuters Greek leftist leader vows to cancel Greek bailout * Tsipras running neck and neck in Sunday vote * Questions over his leadership skills remain By Dina Kyriakidou ATHENS, June 13 (Reuters) - Alexis Tsipras, the radical Greek leftist who wants to cancel ... The Fear Factor in Greek ElectionsBusinessWeek Greek conservatives attack leftist rivals before Sunday voteChicago Tribune French president warns Greeks over euroHouston Chronicle Forbes -San Francisco Chronicle -Minneapolis Star Tribune all 720 news articles »