New government negotiations a thriller

The rumours about the person who will have to replace the PM are abundant.

As time passes and 24 hours from the announcement of the initial agreement between Papandreou and Samaras are coming to a close, the name of the man who will succeed the PM has not even been announced, raising the anxiety level.

Information indicates some kind of obstruction between PASOK and ND in their negotiations, and Lucas Papademos who is already in Athens.

Official information on the precise causes is nowhere to be found. Mr. Lucas Papademos would prefer, reportedly, his own staff. National Bank president Vasilis Rapanos and former Minister Tasos Giannitsis are some of those destined to join the economy team, even become Ministers of Finance.

Mr. Papademos is not… irresolute, as an individual who knows him states, and adds that the former ECB VP is not someone who will allow the imposition of staff on him if he knows the fight he is going to fight will be difficult, especially in terms of portfolios of importance.

The name of the European Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamantouros, who is also an excellent judge of how the EU works, has come up after the difficulties which arose. Persons who are involved in the negotiations during the last hours indicate that Mr. Diamantouros has unlimited positive elements and access to the European fora, but he has the disadvantage of not being able to control the home front easily, and is cantankerous and unpredictable in case of deadlocks.

And this is quite important in these critical hours. No one must forget that besides the October 26th decisions, the PM’s successor must contain the country, which is a very difficult undertaking in itself since there are only 105 days to elections. Thus, besides the EU agreements and their application, the new government will at the same time be talking and deciding on issues approved by PASOK and ND, and thus will need to create the image of stability. Thus the new PM must make it clear to Europeans that he represents at least the largest part of the Greek populace.

If a person who cannot control the home front becomes PM, even if he has the greatest lines of communication open abroad, he will deal with the question of who he is ultimately serving. Therefore, it is a given that abroad and in our negotiations with the Europeans, a diplomat would be a good alternative. That is their job after all, to push the Greek envelope and serve the country.

The unfortunate thing is that at this time, most of the weight is on the communication lines with our EU partners. From the difficulty of finding a new PM, it is obvious that the home front is obviously very important, as well as how it can go wrong very fast.

Due to all the above, the personality of Petros Moliviatis is resurfacing. Those who cannot be counted as his fanatical supporters state that he is a “man who knows his way around the background”, since he was Konstantinos Karamanlis’ partner  for many years. Mr. Moliviatis is acceptable by the ND party and has been honestly talking with PASOK. He is also respected by the Communist Party and maintains lines of communication open with LAOS. For some, Mr. Moliviatis has all the guarantees that will help him keep the home front intact, which is very important at this hour, when Europeans have declared their opinions and given their ultimatum that they expect Greece to keep to its agreements. What they expect from Greece is knowing that the agreements will be adhered to, which makes it imperative to decide upon an individual who can bring about a climate of reconciliation, confidence and stability to all parties, who will in turn be reassured that this person is acting selflessly and that his main role is to lead the Greeks to the polls without anything getting in the way.