EU SOURCE: Samaras ‘only got Greek deal because of pro-EU Party promise’.

EXCLUSIVE FROM BRUSSELS: WHY THE DEAL THAT NEVER WAS MIGHT NEVER HAVE BEEN

The Slog’s trusted Brussels mole informed me last night that Chief Greek nailbiter Atonis Samaras (left) was forced by Berlin-am-Brussels to give a firm promise of forming his new ‘European Party’ last weekend – or Athens would be hung out to dry.

We can only hope that Samaras agreed with a wry smile, because that would have to have been the emptiest threat since Dad’s Army pointed its pitchforks at Hitler.

Tuesday’s ‘deal’ is indeed a deal, but very little of it involves a realistic future for the Greeks. It is a very complex subject I’ve been battling to get my head round for two days. I will post about it specifically in due course.

However, that Samaras is going ahead with his plan isn’t in doubt: the latest working title is European Union Front, in itself a Freudian brand name…the Greek elite being an obvious front for the technocrats of Brussels.

I do recognise that many Sloggers think this Greek fiasco can go on forever, but it can’t. And it certainly can’t wait until the German elections next year. The tension between high taxes and high unemployment is now affecting all classes in Greece. Winter is coming, electricity is being cut off because people simply can’t

An interview with Antonis Samaras, Greek prime minister, on austerity and unrest

Athens
Antonis Samaras became Greece’s prime minister just three months ago, but he has already become a veteran in a two-front war. Samaras is trying to keep his country in the euro zone by agreeing to major budget cuts demanded by the “troika” — the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank. Internally, he faces the almost-certain prospect of social unrest in opposition to the austerity measures, while externally, he must convince the rest of Europe that he’s serious about change. The Washington Post’s Lally Weymouth talked to Samaras in Athens on Wednesday. Excerpts:

How did your meeting with European Central Bank President Mario Draghi go yesterday?
We talked about the need for liquidity. It is a prerequisite for us to start the much-expected recovery. Without liquidity, you cannot give money to small, medium or large enterprises through the banks, and you cannot allow the system to breathe. And we need a lot of breaths at this point.
Did Draghi tell you anything specific?

Απίστευτη εικόνα κυβερνητικής διάλυσης 20 ημέρες μετά τις εκλογές!

Διαλύονται εις τα εξ ων συνετέθησαν; Ούτε δύο εβδομάδαες κυβέρνηση και τα προβλήματα στην "συγκυβέρνηση τετραετίας" είναι τέτοια που κανείς δεν ξέρει αν θα βγάλει τον χειμώνα.: Τρεις υπουργοί παραιτήθηκαν, ακούγεται και παραίτηση τέταρτου και ο δεύτερος κυβερνητικός εταίρος, ο Ε.Βενιζέλος και το ΠΑΣΟΚ "κάνουν νερά"!
Με δύο κινήσεις, δηλαδή το αίτημα για σύσκεψη των τριών πολιτικών αρχηγών που στηρίζουν την κυβέρνηση συνεργασίας και την δήλωση της Φώφης Γεννηματά ότι η γραμμή του ΠΑΣΟΚ πρέπει να αποτελέσει την επίσημη διαπραγματευτική στρατηγική της χώρας, ο Ευάγγελος Βενιζέλος έλαβε σαφείς αποστάσεις από τους χειρισμούς του υπουργού Οικονομικών Γιάννη Στουρνάρα στο Eurogroup και έκανε έξαλλο τον Α.Σαμαρά.

Γενικά οι δηλώσεις αυτές του ΠΑΣΟΚ προκάλεσαν εκνευρισμό στην μεγαλύτερη κυβερνητική παράταξη. Σύμφωνα με πληροφορίες, από την πλευρά της ΝΔ θεωρήθηκε ότι ο κ. Βενιζέλος αμφισβητεί την διαπραγματευτική τακτική.
Την ίδια ώρα ο πρόεδρος του ΠΑΣΟΚ δεχόταν κριτική και από το εσωτερικό του κόμματός του. Μέλη της Κοινοβουλευτικής Ομάδας του ΠΑΣΟΚ θύμιζαν ότι οι χειρισμοί του κ. Βενιζέλου -όταν