Presidential election gambit may backfire for Greece PM

Athens

DEBT-LADEN Greece's Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is a late convert to austerity whose penchant for risky politics once again is threatening to torpedo his career.

In a surprise move this month, Mr Samaras pushed forward the date of a high-stakes presidential election, hoping to have one less problem to deal with when talks with the country's European Union and International Monetary Fund creditors resume in February.

But his government looks unlikely to muster the 180 parliamentary votes it needs on Monday, and failure to elect a president will trigger early elections.

This is not the first time Mr Samaras has staked his career on a bold move that may backfire. Two decades ago, as foreign minister, the 63-year-…