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Conservatives Soften Election Demands

Conservative New Democracy party signalled on Friday it would drop its insistence on holding elections in February, a move that would give Prime Minister Lucas Papademos more time to pass reforms and secure a vital debt restructuring deal.
Shortly afterward ND spokesman Yiannis Michelakis issued a written statement indicating that the government would stay in place until it had completed its chief tasks, of implementing reforms agreed with Greece’s foreign creditors at a European Union summit on October 26, and concluding negotiations on a private sector plan – dubbed as PSI+ — for a haircut on Greek bonds.
His statement appeared to indicate that ND had eased off the pressure for elections by February 19, a provisional date proposed when the new coalition was formed in November. “It is clear that what has been agreed between political leaders still stands, which means the completion of the government’s task and mainly the bond swap (PSI) and the new economic programme that will safeguard Greece’s debt viability,” said New Democracy spokesman Yannis Michelakis.Sources said, however, that Samaras had indicated in his talks with Papademos that the election date should not be delayed by more than two or three weeks after this provisional date.
There was no indication about whether the conservatives had backed down on their resistance to the merging of auxiliary pension funds – one of a series of reforms demanded by foreign creditors.
Papademos also met with the leader of the Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS), Giorgos Karatzaferis, who appeared to throw his full support behind the coalition. In a brief statement to reporters after the talks, Karatzaferis indirectly criticized those who have pushed for early elections, emphasizing that the premier “should be left alone to govern.”
Karatzaferis added that there “was room for flexibility” as regards the date of elections but no such flexibility for reforms.”We have to let Papademos govern,” LAOS leader George Karatzaferis told reporters. “February is a good month for carnival but not for elections.”The Socialists and the far right LAOS party, both in the coalition government, have said Papademos should be given more time and he himself has repeatedly said that he would not be tied to the February date.
It remained unclear when Papademos would meet with his predecessor PASOK leader George Papandreou — who has been unconditionally supportive of the reforms as they are a continuation of his own term – but the two men are expected to have talks on the Tuesday after Christmas.

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