Finland Times

     The debate on the budget draft was wrapping up at the plenum on Sunday evening, as the two main labor unions of the private and public sector employees GSEE and ADEDY were holding a demonstration on Syntagma square in central Athens.

     The security measures were stringent after the violent incidents which marred rallies staged on Saturday evening for the anniversary of the killing of a Greek teen by police fire six years ago.

     Police detained 296 individuals for attacking anti-riot forces and causing damages to cars and buildings on Saturday night, according to the latest official data.

     Inside the parliament building tension was also on the rise as the two-partite coalition government of conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and the opposition parties were arguing about the forecasts and the next round of policies needed to meet all fiscal discipline and reform targets set to overcome the four-year debt crisis.

     The budget draft is expected to pass without difficulty. But, since it was submitted to the assembly without prior agreement with international lenders on the estimated size of the fiscal gap for the next year and the policies needed to cover it, critics expect a new set of harsh policies soon.

     Cabinet ministers assure that no additional austerity measures will be implemented and that Greece does not discuss with creditors a long extension of the bailout program launched in May 2010 to avert the risk of default. Athens considers only a short-term extension of a few weeks "for technical reasons," according to the government.

     The debate on the economic policies in the Greek assembly was conducted amidst rumors that Samaras is examining the prospect of bringing forward by a month the presidential election which has turned into a new confidence vote for the government in order to ease concern over political instability.

     Under the Greek Constitution the President is elected by a majority of at least 180 votes in the 300-member strong assembly. The coalition of the conservative New Democracy (ND) party with the socialists now holds just a slim majority and therefore need the support of opposition parties and independent MPs.

     If they fail to garner it, the country heads to snap general elections, as main opposition Radical Left party requests.