Crisis talks on a debt deal for Greece among the three leaders of parties supporting the coalition government were suspended and will continue on Monday.
The three party leaders held a five-hour meeting late Sunday with Prime Minister Lucas Papademos to hammer out a deal with debt inspectors representing eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund, but failed to reach an agreement.
An announcement from Papademos’ office said the three had agreed on measures to cut spending in 2012 by 1.5 percent of gross domestic product — about €3.3 billion ($4.3 billion) — improve competitiveness by cutting wages and non-wage costs, such as social security contributions, reduce auxiliary pensions and re-capitalize banks without nationalizing them.
But the three leaders — socialist George Papandreou, Antonis Samaras of conservative New Democracy and Giorgos Karatzaferis of the right-wing Popular Orthodox Rally — differed as to what this would mean in detailed proposals. All three have called meetings of their party executives to consider the proposals.
Samaras said upon leaving the talks that Greece’s creditors “are asking for more recession which the country cannot bear. I am fighting, with all my means, to prevent this.”
“I will not contribute to the breakout of a revolution by the new poor that will consume the whole of Europe,” Karatzaferis said.
Papandreou objects to cutting actual wages and wants the state to take over banks, at least temporarily.
“Political party leaders are obliged to provide a first response to the proposals by” Monday morning, socialist party spokesman Panos Beglitis told reporters after the party leaders’ meeting with Papademos.
Papademos has resumed talks with representatives of the “troika” of Greece’s creditors later on Sunday and will be joined by Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos and Labor Minister Giorgos Koutroumanis.
(source: AP)
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