Greece's "Holy Monday"

George Papandreou and Antonis Samaras will discuss the name of the new prime minister. They will also agree on the timing of elections.

Representatives of the two major parties will fill the “slots” of the new government.

The board of political leaders will judge the involvement of other parties.

Evangelos Venizelos will represent Greece at ECOFIN.

In the morning, Giorgos Papandreou and Antonis Samaras will lock down the agreement by shaking hands on the name of the new Prime Minister. At the same time, PASOK and ND delegations will be meeting with potential government members. Since yesterday, during the meeting of the economic staff, there has been an attempt to agree on the time of the elections. The government insists that in order to get the deal through the EU, elections cannot happen before March. ECOFIN will be having a meeting in the evening, where Evangelos Venizelos will announce the good news to his counterparts. At night, the composition of the new government is expected to be announced. Friday is a likely day for the vote of confidence, unless the parties and the President agree to expedite the process.

As Protothema.gr is informed, according to Papandreou’s associates, during his meeting with Samaras and under the supervision of the President, the two leaders agreed on the following:

- The full implementation of the October 26th Agreement
- The establishment of a new government with a new PM
- Elections immediately after the conclusion of the agreement.

The statement from the Presidency is as follows:

“Under the Presidency of Karolos Papoulias, Prime Minister Mr. Giorgos Papandreou and leader of the Opposition, Antonis Samaras met today. During the meeting there was an agreement on the need to establish a new government in order for the country to be led to elections after the implementation of the October 26th goals. As for the determination of the obligations on the October 26th decisions and the timeframe which is required, PM G. Papandreou has already stated that he will not be leading the new government. Tomorrow, there will be a new communiqué between the PM and the leader of the Opposition, on the person who will be the new Prime Minister.

Tomorrow, the President will convene a meeting of the leaders of all political parties”.