International Media for greek presidential vote

BBC: Greece has announced it will bring forward by two months the date of a key presidential vote, in an apparent attempt to end political uncertainty.
The announcement came after eurozone ministers approved a Greek request for a two-month extension to its bailout programme due to end later this month.
It will be a vital test for embattled Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.

Guardian: The Greek government has announced that it will bring forward presidential elections. The announcement of the high-stakes gamble that will make or break its survival was made only a few hours after lenders agreed on Monday to grant Greece a two-month extension of its financial rescue programme.
The ruling coalition surprised party leaders and political pundits by saying the process to replace the country's head of state would begin next week, two months ahead of schedule.
Amid widespread discontent after five years of austerity – the price of emergency bailout funds from the EU and IMF – polls show the main opposition, the radical left Syriza party, would easily emerge as the winner if general elections were held.
"The open vote makes their choice more difficult but if they believe they can go back to their constituencies and sit in tavernas and coffee houses and not be lynched, they may well back the government's candidate," said one seasoned political observer. "It gives them longer in posts that they would otherwise lose.

Balcaneu - Prime Minister Antonis Samaras announced on Tuesday that former Foreign Minister and former European Commissioner Stavros Dimas will be a candidate for President of the Republic, in all three rounds of the upcoming elections.
In his announcement Mr. Samaras noted that "although the country's economy had been stabilized, clouds of political uncertainty appeared once again on the horizon. The government did what it had to do in order to lift the uncertainty and fully restore political stability."
"With the election of the President of the Republic at the end of the month, our country will be ready to enter the post-memorandum era," the Prime Minister underlined. "We chose Stavros Dimas because he is a person esteemed by the Greek society and the international community. He will be a candidate in the three electoral processes," Mr. Samaras said.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Antonis Samaras held a meeting with Stavros Dimas.
After the meeting, Mr. Dimas was asked whether he will run for President of the Republic and he replied laconically that the decision is up to PM Antonis Samaras.

AFP: Former EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas is the Greek government candidate to assume the country's presidency, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said on Tuesday.
"The best possible candidate for president is Stavros Dimas," Samaras said in a nationally televised address. Dimas, 73, served in the European Commission from 2004 to 2010. A year later, he briefly served as foreign minister. The vote by 300 members of parliament to replace President Karolos Papoulias had been due in February but has now been set for a first round on December 17. The poll is a key test for Samaras, who would be forced to call snap general elections if his presidential candidate fails to garner enough support. Given the government's slim majority in parliament, a full three voting rounds are likely to be required to elect Dimas.

Reuters: Greece's government named a respected former EU commissioner, Stavros Dimas, on Tuesday as its candidate for president in a crucial vote in parliament this month that could trigger an early general election. In a surprise move, the government on Monday moved forward the start of the presidential vote by two months to next week, risking early elections if it fails to secure a super-majority in parliament to back Dimas's candidature.
The conservative government is negotiating to bring about an early end to the 240 billion euro EU/IMF bailout that rescued Greece at the height of its debt crisis. The program is deeply unpopular because of the strict austerity conditions attached.
"When the current parliament elects a president at the end of the month the clouds will be gone and the country will be ready to officially enter the post-bailout era," Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said in a televised address.
Dimas, a 73-year-old lawyer, is a prominent politician from Samaras's New Democracy party, where he has been vice president since 2010. He served as EU environment commissioner from 2004 to 2009 and has held various ministerial positions. He was foreign minister under a technocrat government at the peak of Greece's debt crisis in 2011-2012.

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