Conservative ND Prime Minister Antonis Samaras met with Socialist PASOK Deputy Prime Minister Evangelos Venizelos on Monday shortly after the Eurogroup’s decision to grant Greece a two-month extension to its bailout program rather than the six-month extension that Athens had objected to. The timing of this was seen as positive, resulting in the announcement of the first round of Greek presidential elections on December 17.

The two-month extension is a boost to the government as it will give it enough time to complete the fifth review of its economy by the representatives of its troika of international creditors from the European Commission (EC), European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF). Mr. Samaras’ survival had depended on his ability to ensure the completion of the review by the end of 2014, but he hadn’t made good on his pledge due to haggling between Greece and the troika on the fiscal gap in the budget for 2015.

The Eurogroup’s decision for a brief extension is a lifeline for the coalition government that has enough time to wrap up its bailout review before permanently exiting the bailout program.

Mr. Samaras has yet to announce his candidate, and government spokeswoman says that this announcement is unlikely to happen on Tuesday.