Greek PM warns of return to crisis days, January elections

By Renee Maltezou

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras appealed to lawmakers to elect a head of state to avert a national election next month and what he called a “catastrophic” return to a crisis that nearly sent Greece crashing out of the euro.

Samaras, who has gambled by bringing the presidential vote forward to this month, is stepping up rhetoric against the main leftist opposition Syriza party in a bid to convince lawmakers to back his candidate and avoid early elections.

Syriza, which has said it will tear up an EU/IMF bailout keeping Greece afloat, is expected to win if a national vote is held.

“We shed blood to take the word “Grexit” away from the mouth of foreigners and Syriza is bringing this word back to their mouths,” Samaras said in a speech to lawmakers from his conservative New Democracy party.

“All lawmakers must now decide if we will elect a president or go to snap elections that people don’t want, the markets are afraid of and which might have catastrophic consequences for the country.”

Investors have already by shaken by the sudden return to the days of crisis in Greece. Greek shares fell 5.4 percent on Thursday to hit a 16-month low. They have tumbled 18 percent this week.

The vote to elect a president will be held in three rounds starting Dec. 17 and ending with a decisive vote on Dec. 29. The government will put forward Stavros Dimas as its candidate in all three rounds and snap national elections will be held in January if he fails to win, Samaras said.

“We will all be judged in the coming days,” Samaras said. “People do not want elections.”

If Dimas prevails, Samaras promised Athens would quickly move to complete a pending bailout review, seek debt relief from European partners and sign a precautionary credit line to support the country in an interim post-bailout period.

Greece’s funding needs were covered until the end of February, Samaras said, after Athens raised an additional 1.6 billion euros in a Treasury bill auction on Wednesday.

Syriza responded by saying that Samaras’s speech was a sign the prime minister knows he cannot muster the 180 votes needed to win the presidential vote. Samaras controls 155 lawmakers.

“Samaras’ speech to his party lawmakers is a confession of his upcoming defeat in securing 180 for the presidential vote and in calling snap elections,” Syriza said in a statement.

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