“There has been no agreement,” between Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos and Democratic Left leader Fotis Kouvelis on the draft bill, the same sources added, but clarified that discussion on other issues on agenda was productive.

A date for a new meeting was not set, while the source reassured that there has not been a confidence issue toward minister of Justice Antonis Roupakiotis.

Deputy Interior Minister Haralambos Athanasiou yesterday said the government’s commitment to combat racism doesn’t require new legislation but amendments to existing laws, enet.gr writes. International human rights groups have expressed strong support for the proposed reform, alarmed at a surge in racially-motivated attacks against immigrants and the rise of the Golden Dawn party.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras expressed his optimism that “things are obviously better” and predicted that the country will recover by the end of the year or early 2014. He said that at the end of 2013 or early 2014 the first signs of recovery will show, but he called for caution about the pressures for easing the programme and the impact they can have in Greece’s efforts for a debt haircut in 2014.

“We are still at the beginning”, he said, “and I am worried because I feel the pressure to ease up. What do they want? To relinquish the perspective of achieving a primary surplus this years that will allow us to negotiate a debt haircut in 2014?” The greatest pressure regard exemption of specific categories of public sector employees from the government’s unified payroll.

According to protothema.gr, yesterday evening, and after many consultations on Greek Constitution and parliamentary Standing Orders, the majority (ND, PASOK, DIMAR) decided that the process be done in one sitting with 3 separate votes -one for each proposal- and a total of 7 polls.

The coalition has proposed that only former Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou be probed in connection with the handling of the Lagarde list following the revelation by prosecutors last month that the names of three of his relatives were removed from the list, Kathimerini writes.

SYRIZA wants Papaconstantinou’s successor Evangelos Venizelos, who leads PASOK, to be investigated along with the former. And the two smaller opposition parties, Independent Greeks and the Golden Dawn want former premiers George Papandreou and Lucas Papademos to be probed too. It is expected that, for each of the votes, MPs will be given ballot papers with the names of all four politicians and the charges they would face.

The participation of MPs in all 3 votes is not mandatory, but New Democracy says “we will participate to the end. There is no question of withdrawal.”

The process is expected to will begin at 10 am and the voting is expected at 6 pm.

The political frenzy surrounding the Lagarde list affair has resulted in limiting the parliamentary discussion to the process, to increasing or decreasing the number of ballot boxes and votes and losing the actual substance which is placing the blame where blame is due, political analysts have suggested.

SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras said that “it is inconceivable that this was decided in the meeting of the three political leaders. The smooth functioning of parliament is being undermined and essentially we have a procedure that removes the secrecy of the vote. This has never happened before in the Greek parliament and reveals panic. Venizelos is self-incriminating himself by asking Samaras for protection. But at the same time he becomes his hostage.” Venizelos, on the other hand insists that “the perpetrator of this conspiracy against PASOK” is the main opposition party.

Finally, late yesterday tovima.gr wrote that SYRIZA is examining the possibility of withdrawing from the voting process if the majority insisted on its proposal for setting up seven polls.

This tactic, SYRIZA people maintain, waves the secrecy of the vote, in a way ‘protecting Mr. Venizelos, who main opposition would like to see investigated about his responsibility regarding the Lagarde list affair.

Talks about Greece exiting the euro will end after critical votes in Parliament this week on new austerity measures, labor reforms and the 2013 budget, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said yesterday in a speech he delivered to the meeting of the ND parliamentary group.

“As soon as the new measures are passed and we get the critical aid tranche, liquidity will start again to feed businesses and households, uncertainty will end, sentiment will change and the fear of a return to the drachma will disappear,” Samaras told New Democracy MPs at a party meeting, Kathimerini writes.

The Premier had separate meetings with his coalition partners, in an effort to restore unity around the austerity package and 2013 budget to be put up for voting in Parliament on Wednesday.

Although Maximos Mansion appears certain that the measures will pass the critical vote next Wednesday, it is watching with concern the intraparty shocks in the government partners that are also reflected abroad, protothema.gr reports.

Prime Minister’s office told the paper with certainty that despite the refusal of DIMAR the measures will pass with the majority of ND and PASOK. They add that on Sunday, November 11, just one day before the crucial Eurogroup meeting, all three coalition parties will vote for the budget that traditionally has the character of a confidence vote. The negative impressions about DIMAR due to its rejection of the labour package will decrease outside the country as well by its vote on the budget.

In a clear message to the Democratic Left, Samaras said: “I can understand why some of those who have are on our side are having seconds thoughts. I understand that the next crucial steps are big and difficult, but they are worth the trouble. I am making a plea to everyone to proceed with us till the end.”

Sources close to the Premier said that contact with the coalition parties and the troika would continue until Wednesday’s vote, when the structural reforms will be put to vote, but it was unlikely that any major concessions would be made. Should Democratic Left fail to support the measures, there is a possibility it will reject the budget, which will be voted on late Sunday. This would likely lead to the party quitting the coalition.

Meanwhile, GSEE and ADEDY umbrella unions have called a general strike Tuesday and Wednesday. Fixed-track and other public transport services will be affected throughout the week as well. According to media reports, the Athens Metro will operate only on Wednesday.

Lawyers across the country are suspending activity for five days starting today, while prosecutors are extending their strike to November 18.

Municipal workers are expected to hold sit-ins at city halls, garbage truck depots and waste management facilities today.

Disruptions are also expected at Athens International Airport on Tuesday from a three-hour stoppage by air-traffic controllers, starting at 10 a.m.

The meeting comes as tens of thousands of protestors shouting “enough is enough” took part in trade union rallies and marches organised in central Athens yesterday, as part of a 24-hour nationwide strike in protest against a new package of austerity measures.

According to Mega channel, if the package of measures is approved today in the meeting between Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and Evangelos Venizelos and Fotis Kouvelis, an announcement should be expected by Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras early next week. Then the Premier will address Greeks through a televised message to explain that this is the last action in the austerity front and that the government will put a great effort to ensure a fair tax system and to receive the next installment of the bailout agreement.

According to protothema.gr, the government is now facing the new conditions created by the disagreement between the EU and the IMF about the debt crisis in the Eurozone and the Greek case. PM Antonis Samaras believes that time is against our country and seeks an agreement with his coalition partnerns in today’s meeting.

The possibility the disbursement of the next tranche of EUR 31.5 billion to be postponed for the end of November seems a nightmare. Samaras insists that the decision for disbursement should be made before the EU Summit on 18 October and then an urgent Eurogroup should convene for remaining details. The Premier wants to avoid the disbursement of the tranche to enter the debate between the EU and the IMF as regards tackling the crisis in the Eurozone and the sustainability of the Greek debt. The IMF insists that the Greek debt is unsustainable and requires its further restructuring with some significant additional funding.

Meawhile, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras briefed PASOK and DIMAR yesterday on the content of the package. Stournaras is planning to implement EUR 7.5 billion of cuts next year, with the rest coming in 2014 or spread over a longer period if Greece is granted an extension to its consolidation period, Kathimerini writes.

DIMAR’s economic policy spokesman Dimitris Chatzisokratis said that his party objected to some of the measures in the package, such as the civil service sackings and raising the minimum number of working years needed for retirement from 15 to 20. The leftist party is also concerned at plans to cut farmers’ low-level pensions by 30 euros per month. DIMAR’s opposition means that it is unlikely that the coalition leaders will agree on the final version of the package today, according to the paper.

According to Kathimerini, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras, who also attended the meeting, told reporters that the “basic scenario” for the measures had been finallized but that further talks would be held on issues of “minor significance”, including on proposals for additional wage cuts for certain categories of civil servants such as military and judicial staff and priests.

The package is to be presented to troika envoys, due in Athens next week, for approval. Senior government officials have made clear that the new measures will include across-the-board cuts in pension benefits as well as wage reductions and layoffs in the broader public sector, Capital.gr writes.

“We did not go into details about the measures. This will happen in the coming days and we will meet again,” Venizelos said. “The treatment of measures is incomplete,” Kouvelis said, and took the chance to reiterate that he is categorically opposed to the horizontal cuts, protothema.gr reports.

Venizelos said the party leaders would continue talks to ensure the cuts were “balanced and just” and did not “destroy the middle class”, according to Reuters.

Let’s try out the accomplishments: first, in last Sunday’s run-off poll, Samaras, Venizelos & Kouvelis gained a satisfactory number of seats that will allow them to start talking about amending the constitution, second, spinning fear dilemmas on Greeks offered the new scheme a -previously non existent- grace period and third, they turned Alexis Tsipras’s SYRIZA into a major political power. These made things fall into place, since, despite its incoherent radicalism, Tsipras’ party is useful to Greek politics as useful wolves are to a flock of deer; they keep them alive and kicking.

Samaras and his associates, Venizelos and Kouvelis, have a good chance to prove that Tsipras’ angry and un-systemic approach is not really needed in Greek politics. Certainly, Greek citizens who did vote or were willing to support Alexis -for a variety of reasons- will remain angry and faithless towards a pro-MoU government that will have, eventually to collect a number of tax hikes and further suppress household wealth, or what’s left of it.

So, what should be done? Could Samaras avoid collecting revenues and stop the bleeding of Greek households? Probably not, since previous years’ phobias have left a series of bills unsettled; for instance real estate property taxes for the period 2009-2011 will start arriving en mass to households, plus last year’s tax bill that has already surged.

Despite the pre-election rhetoric, pressure on salaries and pensions will continue, perhaps not directly, but due to increases in utilities or through the new reduced tax-free threshold. What Samaras can do is to state emphatically that there will be no new taxes. This is the easy part. A tougher call would be to cancel pension cuts already announced and overdue, or order citizens to ignore Tax Bureau notes arriving by mail.

Policy directions agreed with our lenders cannot be avoided; troika people need results; they do not necessarily promote the ways to reach them. Therefore, the answer will not be found in the hype of “MoU renegotiation”; this will probably end up into merely prolonging the implementation of the country’s obligation timeline.

The real political challenge is to act radically and change things in three fronts: 1) quality of applied politics, 2) the citizens’ well-being and 3) creation of new GDP.

Referring to the quality of politics, Samaras government has an unexpected chance to act as the driving force for the restructuring of the Greek political system; the only -although the hardest- thing they have to do is to be innovative; escape political stiffness and rebrand Greek politics. The effort could excel if a twist is added through the adoption of some of Tsipras’ proposals, especially those that have to do with cutting down the salaries of ministers, ministry advisors and MPs.

Citizens’ well-being such as security, environment, health, implementation of the law and accountability of local government remain key policy areas that could offset cruel income cuts and household tax hikes. Improving public sentiment is possible through precise strategic planning and close monitoring of implementation. A great list of interventions could secure immediate and spectacular results with zero cost.

Finally, they need to create new GDP, not only through public works and privatisations, but also through the exploration of competitive advantages of Greece, such as agro-business, holistic tourism, transports, education and renewable energy sources. To manage that, you need to cut down red tape, integrate processes, embrace new ideas, advance innovative entrepreneurship and mobilise a huge amount of national product that remains unexploited.

Making these happen requires a new style in politics, out of the box thinking and new brainpower. Samaras and associates have to prove they are willing to foster all three of them.

In ALCO’s poll published in Proto Thema, ND gets 25.6%, SYRIZA 22.9%, PASOK 14%, Independent Greeks 6.4%, KKE 5.6%, Golden Dawn 4.6% and DIMAR 4.6%.

In a poll by Kapa Research published in Sunday’s To Vima newspaper, ND stands at 25.8% SYRIZA 20.1%, PASOK 13%, KKE 6.3%, Independent Greeks 5.4%, DIMAR 5.3% and Golden Dawn 5.2%.

In MARC’s poll published in Sunday’s ‘Ethnos’, ND gets 25.2%, SYRIZA 23.2%, PASOK 12.6%, Independent Greeks 6.6%, DIMAR 5.3%, KKE 4.5% and Golden Dawn 4.4%.

In MRB’s poll for Real News newspaper, ND leads with 23.3%, SYRIZA gets 22.2%, followed by PASOK 13.8%, Independent Greeks 7%, DIMAR 5.7%, KKE 5% and Golden Dawn 4%.

Finally, in a poll by VPRC for KONTRA TV channel, SYRIZA is leading with 28.5%, followed by ND 26%, PASOK 12.%, Independent Greeks 7%, DIMAR 7%, Golden Dawn 5.5%, Communist Party 5%.