As the national elections draw near, the leaders of the country’s political parties are putting their best foot forward with two vital public appearances scheduled to take place in the next few days.

The first one is the televised debate at 9 p.m. this evening, hosted by state broadcaster ERT, which will bring together the leaders of the six political parties before a national audience.

Apart from the two main parties, New Democracy and PASOK, the discussion will provide a much-needed publicity boost to the smaller groups – the Communist Party, Left Coalition Synaspimos, Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) and Democratic Revival.

The political leaders will be called upon to answer questions from a team of six journalists over a three-hour period.

Straight after the debate, the leaders will be preparing for the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) this weekend – a platform where the prime minister traditionally outlines his government’s economic policy for the next year. Despite the fact that the TIF this year will be a low-key affair due to the recent devastating forest fires, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis will be eager to make use of Sunday’s press conference to put across his government’s economic achievements since being elected in March 2004.

The course of the economy is considered to be one of the strong points for the Conservatives. PASOK leader George Papandreou is also scheduled to hold a press meeting in Thessaloniki on Sunday.