Giorgos will stand before PASOK for the new measures

The countdown to the announcement of new measures by minister Giorgos Papakonstantinou has begun. In view of the new "storm" the government and PASOK will undertake a series of consultations with leading members, starting today and ending tomorrow night.

The "Maypole" will begin at 3 pm today, when PASOK’s Political Council will meet under the National Council Secretary, Michael Karhimakis.

Apart from the Council members, Finance minister Giorgos Papakonstantinou, Regional Development and Competitiveness minister, Michalis Chrysochoidis, Labour minister, Luqa Katseli and her Deputy minister, George Koutroumanis, will also be present.

At 10am tomorrow, Friday, it’s the turn of the cabinet, with the announcement of the major part of the measures. The parliamentary group will meet at 1pm, right after the Political Council of PASOK, chaired this time by PM Giorgos Papandreou.

The above schedule was deemed necessary after Papakonstantinou’s collision with party PMs during the Finance meeting last week. Their attitudes seem to be fiercer than ever, while in the past few days the ministers have been grumbling too.

They are reacting to any cuts in their portfolio and therefore many people fear and expect that government officials will follow Loverdos’ example and leave the Finance minister alone with his decisions at the first opportunity.

The climate in the parliamentary group is particularly heavy, especially since Easter is only a week away and provincial PMs will spend their vacation time in their constituencies, expecting to be threatened with "crucifixion" during the Passion Week.

In conclusion, it seems that a formula is being sought regarding the context of tomorrow's cabinet meeting, where new measures will be specified. The goal is to prevent new attacks and disputes which, when they occur, will not be appeased by any incidental journalists’ strike.