Greeks hit impasse in last push to avert elections...[ 2853 ]

Greek leaders hit impasse in last push to avert elections

 By Karolina Tagaris and Lefteris Papadimas

ATHENS | Sun May 13, 2012 8:00am EDT

(Reuters) - Greece's president met party leaders on Sunday in a final bid to cobble together a coalition and avert a repeat election, but the talks immediately hit an impasse and looked set to fail because of deep splits over an EU/IMF rescue plan.

Leaders of the three biggest parties, each of whom had failed to form a government in the past week, convened at the presidential mansion, where President Karolos Papoulias had a last opportunity to implore them to form a coalition before he must call another election, probably in mid-June.

The meeting broke up after less than two hours of talks, and leaders said the discussions had hit a snag, though they expressed the hope that difficulties could be overcome.

"Even now, despite the impasse at the meeting we had with the president, I hold on to some limited optimism that a government can be formed," said Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos, whose PASOK party finished a humbling third in Sunday's election. But he warned time was running out.

"The moment of truth has come. We either form a government or we go to elections."

His conservative counterpart, Antonis Samaras, said talks to form a government were continuing but blamed the radical leftist SYRIZA party for blocking efforts to form a coalition.

Samaras placed first in the election last week but fell far short of an outright majority, punished by voters for backing a bailout package tied to harsh austerity cuts in the heavily indebted country.

SYRIZA, which campaigned against the bailout, finished a surprise second in the vote.

Both Samaras's New Democracy and Venizelos' PASOK party - which have taken turns to rule Greece for nearly four decades and jointly negotiated a bailout that requires deep cuts in public spending - are eager to avoid facing the voters again.

Polls since the election show the balance of power tipping even further towards opponents of the bailout, who were divided among several small parties but now appear to be rallying behind SYRIZA's Alexis Tsipras, a 37-year-old ex-Communist student leader.

If the vote is repeated, Tsipras's SYRIZA party is tipped to place first, winning an automatic extra 50 seats at the expense of Samaras.

If the next government rejects the bailout, EU officials say that would mean the end of loans that Athens needs to stave off bankruptcy and its possible exit from the euro single currency.

Polls show an overwhelming majority of Greeks reject the bailout but want to keep the euro. As many as 78.1 percent want the new government to do whatever it takes to keep their country in the currency, a poll by Kappa Research for To Vima daily showed.

ELECTIONS AGAIN

Samaras and Venizelos have offered a broad coalition that would include SYRIZA and try to renegotiate some bailout terms, but Tsipras rejects that.

"It is obvious that there is an effort to bring about a government that will implement the bailout. We are not participating in such a government," SYRIZA spokesman Panos Skourletis said on Saturday.

Another small leftist party - the Democratic Left led by lawyer Fotis Kouvelis - could provide enough seats to form a government with New Democracy and PASOK, but has said it will not do so unless the coalition also includes SYRIZA.

Greeks seem resigned to returning to the polls.

"Why would we believe they'll agree on something? All they care about is being in power and we're sitting here not even able to pay our electricity bills," said Maria Kissou, 53, a corner shop owner in Athens. "Let us go to elections again."

Kissou voted for Tsipras on May 6.

"He's young, I like him because at least he's trying to renegotiate with the Europeans," Kissou said.

Supporters of the two establishment parties will be hoping that if a new election is held, Greeks will be frightened of the prospect of leaving the euro and return to the fold.

"Country on a dangerous path," the conservative daily Kathimerini warned on its front page.

Papoulias will also meet leaders of parliament's small parties on Sunday evening at 1630 GMT, which for the first time include the far right Golden Dawn.

In one of the unfolding drama's many sub-plots, Greeks will watch with interest to see how the president, a revered 82-year-old veteran of the World War II anti-Nazi resistance, receives a group whose members give Nazi-style salutes.

The constitution sets no deadline for Papoulias to complete his search for a deal and he has given no indication how long he will spend trying before he calls a new election.

(Writing by Deepa Babington; Editing by Giles Elgood)

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  6:37am EDT
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  7:25am EDT

 

Risk of Greece leaving the eurozone."...[ 2852 ]

Greek President to urge unity government to avert new polls

AFP
Athens, May 12, 2012

First Published: 14:24 IST(12/5/2012)
Last Updated: 14:26 IST(12/5/2012)

President Carolos Papoulias was under pressure on Saturday to orchestrate a way out of Greece's political impasse as fresh elections appeared increasingly likely. The president must step in after three failed attempts to form a coalition government following inconclusive elections in the debt-strapped country.

- The nation is deeply torn over tough austerity measures imposed as conditions for its IMF-EU bailouts, and the crisis has raised the specture of a default and exit from the 17-member eurozone.
"We're a breath away from the drachma and disaster," liberal daily Kathimerini warned on Saturday. "A very large segment of our fellow citizens do not realise it, and this is very dangerous."
-
Voters last Sunday punished the mainstream parties and left a fractured political landscape amid intense EU pressure over Greek finances.
Socialist Pasok leader Evangelos Venizelos on Friday failed in the latest bid to form a government after the radical leftist Syriza party refused to join a pro-austerity coalition with the socialists and conservatives.
-
Venizelos was to return his mandate to Papoulias at 1000 GMT.
The head of state is then expected to urge party leaders to form a national unity government, by Monday at the latest.
If the parties cannot agree a compromise by next Thursday, new elections will have to be called.
-
"The president is now called to attempt to find a solution," said financial daily Naftemboriki. It added that the man who had held together Greece's previous uneasy coalition, former ECB deputy chief Lucas Papademos, had told Papoulias on Friday that he would not remain as caretaker prime minsiter in the event of repeat elections.
The latest twist in the tortuous political drama came as EU paymaster Germany threatened to cut off the country's loan lifeline and hinted that the crisis-ridden eurozone could get along without Greece.
-
Venizelos was the third party leader who tried and failed to cobble together a government after the inconclusive elections.
"I am going to inform the president of the Republic (Saturday) and I hope that during the meeting with Carolos Papoulias, each party will assume its responsibilities," Venizelos told reporters in Athens.
Venizelos had been hoping to win the support of Syriza, a party deeply opposed to the terms of the 240 billion euro (311 billion dollar) European Union-International Monetary Fund bailout and which surged to second place in Sunday's vote.
Earlier, another possible ally, the small Democratic Left party, said it would not join a government made up of only Pasok and the conservative New Democracy party that did not include Syriza.
-
Both Syriza and the New Democracy party had failed in their own attempts to assemble a coalition government.
Two new opinion polls have shown that Syriza could even emerge as the victor if new elections are held in June.
Brussels on Friday revised downwards its economic forecasts for the country at the epicentre of the eurozone debt crisis.
-
The European Commission said the economy is expected to contract by 4.7% this year and see zero growth next year.
Fitch credit rating agency warned that the emergence of a Greek government "unwilling or unable to abide by the terms of the current EU-IMF programme would increase the risk of Greece leaving the eurozone."
-
"If they are required, the re-run elections will therefore be a critical event for both Greece and for the eurozone," it said in a note.
Greece has already committed to finding in June another 11.5 billion euros in savings over the next two years. It also needs to redeem 436 million euros in maturing debt on May 15.

Russia is testing Italy's Centauro wheeled tank ...[ 2851 ]

Russia Testing Italian Tank

Italy's Centauro wheeled tank //© Photo Jeffery Russell //13:50 12/05/2012

MOSCOW, May 12 (RIA Novosti)

Russia is testing Italy's Centauro wheeled tank and considering building it under license, a representative of the Oto-Melara company which makes the tank said on Saturday.

-

"The first two machines with 105-mm and 125-mm guns are on trial at a Moscow Region proving ground," he said.

-

Two more Centauros with 120-mm and 30-mm guns will also join the trials in another six weeks. "The tanks will take part in laboratory, driving and firing trials," the Oto-Melara representative said.

-

When the trials are complete at the end of this year, Russia will consider creating a joint venture for production of the tank with an enterprise from the Russian military-industrial complex, he said.

-

Russian truck maker Kamaz in Naberezhny Chelny could be involved in the deal, according to a source in Russian arms sales holding Rosoboronexport.

-

Russia signed a deal with Italy in December for the semi-knocked down assembly of 60 Lynx light multirole armored vehicles (LMV) from Iveco, Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Sukhorukov said in January.

Oto-Melara, part of the Italian Finnmeccanica group, is part of the CIO joint venture with vehicle manufacturer Iveco to make military vehicles.

-

Italy already has 400 Centauros in service. The 24 ton tank has a four-man crew, top speed of 100 km/h (60 mph) and range of 800 km (500 miles). It has a main gun and two 7.62 mm machineguns.

--

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Active Black Hole ...[ 2850 ]

Active Black Hole Squashes Star Formation

New data from the Herschel Space Observatory shows that galaxies with the most powerful, active, supermassive black holes at their cores produce fewer stars than galaxies with less ones.

Supermassive black holes are believed to reside in the hearts of all large galaxies. When gas falls upon these monsters, the materials are accelerated and heated around the black hole, releasing great torrents of energy. In the process, active black holes often generate colossal jets that blast out twin streams of heated matter.

Inflows of gas into a galaxy also fuel the formation of new stars. In a new study of distant galaxies, Herschel helped show that star formation and black hole activity increase together, but only up to a point. Astronomers think that if an active black hole flares up too much, it starts spewing radiation that prevents raw material from coalescing into new stars.

This artist concept of the local galaxy Arp 220, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, helps illustrate the Herschel results. The bright core of the galaxy, paired with an overlaid artist's impression of jets emanating from it, indicate that the central black hole's activity is intensifying. As the active black hole continues to rev up, the rate of star formation will, in turn, be suppressed in the galaxy. Astronomers want to further study how star formation and black hole activity are intertwined.

Herschel is a European Space Agency cornerstone mission, with science instruments provided by consortia of European institutes, with important participation by NASA.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Greeks scramble to avert new vote...[ 2849 ]

Greek parties scramble to avert new vote

By Harry Papachristou and Tatiana Fragou

ATHENS | Fri May 11, 2012 5:13am EDT

(Reuters) - The leaders of Greece's once-dominant political parties made a last push on Friday to form a coalition and avert a new election, which a poll showed would all but wipe them out and give victory to a radical leftist who rejects an EU bailout.

The overwhelming majority of Greeks want to stay in the euro zone but voted last Sunday for parties that reject the severe terms of a bailout negotiated last year. European leaders say Greece will be ejected from the common currency if it turns its back on the package of tax hikes and wage cuts.

Socialist PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos, whose party once towered over Greek politics but placed a distant third in election, is the last politician given a chance to form a government.

He met conservative rival Antonis Samaras, whose New Democracy party came first in the election, but who has already failed to form a coalition. If Venizelos fails as well, all parties will have one last chance to try before a new election must be held in the coming three to four weeks.

After the meeting, Samaras told lawmakers from his party he was trying to avert a new election but was not afraid of one.

"We are fighting to form a government and there are still hopes for this," he said.

A new vote could be catastrophic for Samaras, whose party benefited on Sunday from a rule that gives 50 bonus seats to the group that placed first in the election.

In a re-run vote he stands to lose those seats - more than a third of the pro-bailout contingent in the 300-seat parliament - to radical leftist Alexis Tsipras, making it inconceivable that a new government would back the bailout.

PASOK and New Democracy jointly negotiated the 130 billion euro ($168.5 billion) EU/IMF bailout in a reluctant coalition last year and now are the only parties in parliament that support it.

Enraged voters punished them by reducing their combined share of the vote from 77 percent to 32 percent at last Sunday's election, leaving them two seats short of forming a coalition government.

Samaras and Venizelos may be hoping Greeks, frightened by the prospect of hasty ejection from the euro, will return to the two traditional mainstream parties if the election is re-run next month.

But a new poll showed the main beneficiary of a new vote would be Tsipras's Left Coalition SYRIZA. Tsipras, 37, rejects the bailout and has demanded it be torn up.

The first opinion poll to be published since the election showed SYRIZA would win with 27.7 percent of the vote, almost 11 points up on their election result, consolidating votes that had been split among smaller anti-bailout groups.

If SYRIZA were to win the 50 bonus seats for first place, the marginalization of the once-mighty parties that have ruled Greece for generations would be complete and the bailout would be a dead letter.

ECUMENICAL GOVERNMENT

Venizelos's hope of reaching a last-ditch deal have rested with the Democratic Left party, a small moderate group.

But its leader, Fotis Kouvelis, insisted on Friday he would not join a coalition with the pro-bailout parties unless anti-bailout parties were also included and the new government gradually withdrew from the loan deal.

"Our proposal for an ecumenical government seeks to ensure the participation of all those forces that can serve two aims: the gradual disengagement from the loan agreement and staying in the euro zone", Kouvelis told Skai TV.

One socialist party official said on Thursday there was a "very slim" chance for a coalition if Kouvelis agreed, "but his party is split right down the middle."

Samaras said Kouvelis's proposal for an all-party government was not far from his own position. But it is hard to see Tsipras agreeing to join it unless it decisively repudiates the bailout.

The political deadlock has prompted warnings by European leaders that Greece could be thrown out of the euro if it does not stick to the spending cuts and economic reforms required by the bailout.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Europe and the International Monetary Fund were still determined to help Greece, but the country could not be helped if it did not help itself.

The EU and IMF say they will not give Greece any more money under the bailout until it has a government in place that renews its commitment to the terms agreed last year. Greece could run out of money as soon as the end of June if the loans stop.

"We do not have an infinite amount of time. Time is flying because there are financing needs, but the first steps have to be taken now from the Greek side," European Central Bank governing council member Ewald Nowotny said in Vienna.

A senior SYRIZA party official said European leaders were bluffing by threatening to eject Greece from the euro.

"Not only can't Greece be kicked out of the euro, they will be begging us to take the money," because if Greece were kicked out the crisis would spread to other European countries and the euro would collapse, said Dimitris Stratoulis.

The prospect that Greece might declare bankruptcy and be pushed out of the euro caused panic across the single currency zone last year. But since then, European banks have written off the value of most of their Greek debt, which makes them less susceptible to shock if Greece should default.

(Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by David Holmes and Janet McBride)