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Almost a month after the formation of the new Greek government, the government committee will meet today for the first time. Although it usually involves only the main ministers, its composition in the coalition cabinet of Lucas Papademos is quite extended. In practice, 19 ministers will adopt the decisions due to the participation of three parties in the government and the majority of cabinet members are from PASOK.

The cabinet preparation for the European Union summit next week and the plan for the legislative activity of the cabinet will be discussed at today's meeting. At the same time, the names of the new government spokesman, the head of the economic office to the Prime Minister and the head of strategic planning have been announced. The recent chief editor of To Vima newspaper Pandelis Kapsis, the son of the journalist and former member of parliament and Minister from PASOK, Yannis Kapsis, was appointed as spokesman. The post of head of the economic cabinet to the Prime Minister was taken by the Professor in the Department of Banking and Financial Management of the University of Piraeus, Gikas Hardouvelis. George Pagoulatos, Professor of European Politics and Economics at the Economic University of Athens will be responsible for strategic planning.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Lucas Papademos sent the last of the letters required by Greece’s lenders for the granting of the sixth tranche of the bailout to the country. Furthermore, they have urged all parties participating in the cabinet to commit in writing that they stand behind the implementation of the agreements of October 26-27.
 
Lucas Papademos’ letter to the heads of the European Council, the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund states that the coalition cabinet was made precisely with the aim of fulfilling the agreements and applying the related economic measures. "The government is committed to fulfilling its goals," said the Greek Prime Minister. He stresses that economic stability and dynamics of reforms could be achieved only through participation in the eurozone. "Greek people realize the need for deeper economic and institutional reforms and fully support the country’s participation in the eurozone, considering it crucial to the success of the efforts of the cabinet.

Meanwhile, the first misunderstandings between the partners in the coalition government have already started. New Democracy criticized the Ministry of Finance for not yet clarifying the situation with the imposition of the extra property tax through electricity bills. The "blue" believe that the threat of power cuts to poor households, unable to pay the high bills because of the tax, is too strict a measure. Later, the Ministry of Finance reported that it was seeking ways to allocate the tax for 2012 in 12 instalments, and to remove the obligation for its payment through the electricity bill.

The programme for the use of abandoned state properties aroused disputes too. The competent Deputy Minister of Finance Yiannis Mourmouras said, "it is one thing to use state property but selling it is quite different." The drama in the Ministry of Regional Development, Competitiveness and Shipping continues. The main reason for it is the relocation of the office of LAOS Deputy Minister Adonis Georgiadis from the luxury building of marina Akti Vasiliadi to another building located on one of the central avenues in Piraeus. The Deputy Minister refuses to leave the office. At the same time, he accused the Minister of Citizen Protection Christos Papoutsis of presenting to the public a bill to fight piracy against Greek ships in his absence.

Makis Voridis from the same party also raised different reactions, when he supported the liberalization of taxi owners’ profession, but based on the number of taxis to population. He also requested that the employees in urban transport not be involved in the labour reserve, arguing that it would sharply reduce the number of their runs, which would hamper citizens’ movement.

Reactions against the involvement of the extreme right in the cabinet continue, while the drama about whether, when and who will replace George Papandreou as PASOK leader is still ongoing. After the meeting of the government committee, the Socialist ministers will participate in a party meeting under his leadership. It will involve only the entourage of the recent PASOK Prime Minister. They will discuss the issue of the party’s tomorrow but it is not clear what is expected to happen. Some believe that George Papandreou has developed a strategy, aiming to remain at the forefront of the party. According to them, indicative is the text by the party headquarters entitled "General comment on current issues." It does not contain a report on the ruling of the cabinet of George Papandreou but states as the reason for its failure "the conservative governments in Europe." According to the authors of the text, it is more than clear now how right George Papandreou was in his position over the past two years. "His opinion has been accepted by all in the European Union. However, decisions are delayed. Conservative Europe is lagging behind and it is looking back," reads the text.