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For Athens daily,To Ethnos, Prime Minister Loukas Papademos has concluded a "preliminary agreement" with the leaders of the main political parties before continuing negotiations with the EU/ECB /IMF troika. The leaders of socialist Pasok, conservative New Democracy and of the far-right LAOS, have agreed to slash 1.5% off public spending and accepted the principal of lowering both the minimum wage and pensions, according to the paper.
To Ethnos, which notes that the political parties, whoever they be, "led us to the edge of destruction," believes that the agreement -
... unquestionably gives us the means to avoid the danger of bankruptcy. But it is an agreement that implies long and painful sacrifices for the Greek people, in particular for those sections of society that are economically out of favour. This must be present permanently in the minds of the leaders, so that their actions draw the best from the agreement and avoid the errors and failures of past efforts in order to overcome the crisis.
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Negotiations between Athens and the troika on one side and creditors on the other are scheduled to continue this week with the aim of avoiding a bankruptcy with unpredictable consequences.
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