Greek leftists reject proposal for technocrat government

Greece’s president has asked politicians to stand aside and let a government of technocrats steer the nation away from bankruptcy, but left-wing parties have already rejected the proposal and look set to force a new election they reckon they can win.

Party leaders, deadlocked since an election nine days ago, have convened at the presidential palace but said they had little hope President Karolos Papoulias’s offer would resolve a political crisis that has fuelled speculation Greece’s days in the euro zone are numbered.

The bailout’s main opponents – the radical leftist SYRIZA party which now leads opinion polls – said they saw the president’s plan for a government of non-partisan experts as nothing but a scheme to impose the austerity demanded by the European Union and IMF but already rejected by voters.

“We will attend the meeting. But we are sticking to our position. We don’t want to consent to any kind of bailout policies, even if they are implemented by non-political personalities,” SYRIZA spokesman Panos Skourletis said.

The prospect that a future Greek government would renege on promises made in return for bailout funds sent European shares sliding and Spanish and Italian bond yields higher on Monday.