Government officials are alarmed by the issues causing internal conflict within the Greek government. Adding salt to the wound are recent statements by Alternate Rural Development Minister Paris Koukoulopoulos on a radio interview with VIMA FM. The minister says that there could be a renegotiation of matters such as the streamlined Public Power Corporation (PPC) and the privatization of the Athens Water Supply and Sewerage Company S.A. (EYDAP) and Thessaloniki Water Supply and Sewerage S.A. (EYATh) without strictly adhering to the memorandum.He expressed the opinion that the country’s primary surplus has given Greece a greater degree of independence adding that “we should look at the government policy priorities”.

These statements come at a time when the European Commission is pushing for the fulfilment of conditions required to disburse the remaining instalments of loan agreements, whereas the German press has already begun to spotlight the government’s internal friction. There is speculation that the stand of some PASOK deputies may be an effort to differentiate from the positions of the New Democracy (ND) party following criticism by PASOK Defence Minister Evangelos Venizelos that PASOK may be losing its identity in the ND-PASOK grand coalition government.