Athens-Brussels, a two-front struggle for Papademos

The coming Monday and Tuesday are devoted to the vote of confidence. Straight after that, Lucas Papademos will depart for Brussels, but on top of that he might also visit Paris and Berlin. As he underlined in his first speech after his appointment to the position of Greek premier, the credibility of the country has reached a nadir and this must change.

The new premier will meet with the European Committee president, Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Council, Herman van Rompuy, and the president of the Eurogroup, Jean-Claude Trichet. Moreover, he has already planned phone conferences with the German chancellor Angela Merkel, the French president Nicolas Sarkozy and the IMF managing director, Christine Lagarde.

He is aiming at getting the green light for the installment of the 6th tranche as fast as possible and finalize the deadline of the imminent agreement.

Time is the government’s main enemy since at the same time as the talks with our lenders in Athens, they will have to prepare and present the 2012 state budget. Above all, its main goal is for both of them to get voted for. Thus, the prime ministerial officials are already down to business and are working closely with the Finance minister Evangelos Venizelos in order to tackle all unresolved issues.

Within the next week, the new premier will have to also name his staff and spokesperson. His choices are going to show his disposition towards the three parties supporting his government and the ministers participating in it. If the people he chooses are of a low profile, then all ministers are expected to sigh with relief. Otherwise, there might be internal signs of antagonism.