The three government partners Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos and DIMAR leader Fotis Kouvelis have arranged to meet this afternoon in order to iron out their differences, in light of the upcoming troika visit in early June.
At the top of the agenda is Antonis Roupakiotis’ controversial anti-racism law, however each partner will attempt to push forward their own political agenda. While the polls indicate that the PM and New Democracy are stabile, people opinion on PASOK and DIMAR has not been as kind.
At PASOK’s latest Central Political Committee session, Mr. Venizelos spoke of “malfunctions” in government and was in favor of evaluating the government and as a whole and on an individual basis. Mr. Kouvelis has a similar opinion and has scrutinized the recent actions of Ministers who take legislative initiatives without informing anyone else and in opposition to the PM’s instructions.
Regarding the anti-racism law, New Democracy feels that the existing legislation from 1979 is adequate, while PASOK and DIMAR are adamant that the new, updated legislation is necessary. Opinions on the matter are polarized, with ND MPs threatening to vote against the anti-racism law if there are not any significant changes made.
The Prime Minister is troubled by these developments, as he does not want to jeopardize the government’s cohesion, but at the same time he does not want to back down from this ideological clash with his partners.
Aside from such a polarizing subject, the three political leaders will discuss matters related to the upcoming troika visit, such as privatizations, finalizing the changes to tax legislation, initiatives to combat unemployment etc. Rumors suggest that the leaders will also consider a cabinet reshuffle, which will likely occur after New Democracy’s conference in late June.
