Socialist nominated as next Greek president

Greece's conservative government yesterday nominated a long serving former socialist foreign minister as the next president in a consensus decision that ended specualtion about an early general election. "I am nominating Karolos Papoulias," Prime...

Greece's conservative government yesterday nominated a long serving former socialist foreign minister as the next president in a consensus decision that ended specualtion about an early general election.

"I am nominating Karolos Papoulias," Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said in a televised speech.

Mr Papoulias, 75, was foreign minister from 1985 to 1989 and from 1993 to 1996 under then ruling socialist governments which lost power to Mr Karamanlis's New Democracy Party last March.

Mr Papoulias would replace Costis Stephanopoulos, 78, a conservative politician whose second five-year term ends next March.

Under the constitution the president, a mainly ceremonial post, is elected by parliament and needs to win 200 votes of the 300 parliamentarians at a first attempt.

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