Greeks still deadlocked over new PM

Pressure mounted on Greece’s two main political parties today to wrap up three days of power-sharing talks and name a new prime minister.

Over the past couple of days, attention has focused more on Rome than on Athens amid concerns that Italy’s economy was heading the same way as Greece’s.

Greek officials defended the time it was taking for the new unity government to be established.

Greece’s big two political parties, the Socialist PASOK party and the conservative New Democracy, are renowned for their opposition to each other and have rarely worked together since the rejection of the monarchy in 1974.

George Papandreou’s office said the premier spoke with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and discussed “the developments in Europe and the eurozone,” as well as the power-sharing negotiations in Athens.

Former European Central Bank vice president Lucas Papademos had been widely tipped as the strongest candidate for interim prime minister. But two officials from the main parties said that another strong candidate had emerged – current parliament speaker and former justice and public order minister Philippos Petsalnikos.

“The solution is in the hands of Mr Papandreou,” said a statement from the New Democracy party.

“No further delay is conceivable. We must finally finish this.”

The new government will be tasked to secure the country’s new European rescue package and then get it through parliament.