Here comes the round of the great clashes, with elections at the end of the tunnel

This is going to be the first time when the presence of a premier at the TIF will signify an all-out war between the government and society as a whole. The reality - contrary to the belief of the PM, George Papandreou, who says that people see a real success resulting from the strict measures - is pretty different. This means plenty of ministers, opposition officials and, of course, the Greek people do realize the exact opposite thing, denying that the adopted “solutions” can solve the problem.

According to experts, the constant efforts of the Greek leadership are paralyzing the government itself instead of helping it move forward. If, however, its policies are changed in the next couple of months, it might be lucky enough to have to cure internal wounds only. Nevertheless, it is going to be these wounds that will be its own minefield in the course of the party’s history in the years to come.

In the case the leading party of PASOK does not manage to balance the shaky reality of the country, then the most likely possibility is the one which leads to early polls.

Papandreou wants this scenario out of the picture as he has nothing to gain from it – under the present circumstances. At the same time, he believes that if elections come earlier than planned, then they have nothing to offer as far as the country and the exit from the crisis are concerned.  But if the situation remains unaltered, then his only safety net is indeed to go to elections, a direction in which many party members converge.

Translation by Lida Filippakis