Greek leaders united by a desire to avoid blame

With the eyes of an impatient Europe on them, Greece’s feuding leaders are united by a desire to avoid blame for the harsh austerity required to save their country from a catastrophic default.

Analysts say that despite their posturing, the leaders of the conservative New Democracy party, the centre-left PASOK socialists and the far-right LAOS nationalists, which back Lucas Papademos’s government, will ultimately accept the bailout terms demanded by the EU and the International Monetary Fund to avert chaos.

But some want to dump the internationally respected Papademos and revert to politics as usual as soon as the money is in the bank, while others want to keep him in office for tactical reasons.