Greece will post a budget surplus of at least one billion euros in 2013 and return the bulk of that to cash-strapped Greeks, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said yesterday, seeking to wrest momentum back from an emboldened leftist Opposition.

Samaras, whose two-party coalition has just a three-seat majority in Parliament, is under growing pressure as polls show the leftist Syriza party steadily gaining ground against the ruling parties ahead of local and EU elections in May.

Greece’s economy shrank by almost a quarter and unemployment has soared since the country was forced to slash public spending to avoid bankruptcy.

Opposition party says ‘no’ to everything,creating problems for country

Although a six-year-long recession is seen coming to an end in 2014, many Greeks remain angry about the hardship they have endured.

In a speech to lawmakers from his conservative New Democracy party, Samaras attacked Syriza for being irresponsible and urged his deputies to stay the course.

“Syriza says ‘no’ to everything. And with these statements it creates problems not for the government but for the country, and puts at risk what we have worked to achieve – the sacrifices of the Greek people,” Samaras said.

He confirmed that Athens would report a surplus before interest payments of one billion euros or more in 2013, making it eligible for more debt relief from its eurozone and International Monetary Fund partners and allowing it to divert 70 per cent of the surplus to help impoverished Greeks.