Fortress Athens Prepares for Merkel's Visit

The German leader's new visit is shadowed by the bombing attack of the Bank of Greece in the center of the city. That alone would be enough for a high alert, let alone planned demonstrations, escaped terrorists like Christodoulos Xiros and the fact that the Greek public is not among the Chancellor's biggest fans.

Nevertheless, as is usually the case, unions and political parties have announced demonstrations against the German Chancellor at 19.00 pm at Klafthmonos square. Main opposition party SYRIZA, that will take part in the rally, says that Ms Merkel's visit confirms “PM Samaras' complete submission to to the most reactionary political force in Europe”.

Ms Merkel's visit and her good public words are expected to boost Samaras' profile and confirm the positive atmosphere for the country built after today's successful capital market run. The prime minister also hopes the visit will divert attention from the “Baltakos-gate” scandal, the taped conversation the former government secretary general had with Golden Dawn MP, Ilias Kasidiaris.