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Credit: Reuters/Sebastien Pirlet By Angeliki Koutantou and Lefteris Papadimas ATHENS | Thu Feb 2, 2012 10:44am EST ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's prime minister faces the daunting task of rallying reluctant political leaders behind unpopular wage and pension cuts demanded by lenders as the price for bailout money that is essential to averting a chaotic default. With talks on a debt swap with banks and insurers almost over, the focus in Athens is squarely on coaxing party chiefs into backing reforms so that a 130-billion-euro rescue plan can be secured in time for big bond redemptions in March. Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, a technocrat appointed in November, will meet the socialist, conservative and far-right leaders in his coalition later on Thursday or on Friday in a bid to persuade them, a government spokesman said. None of them want to be linked to painful reforms ahead of national elections expected as early as April and they have already begun preparing their electorate for more pain ahead. "They've put a gun to our head and said they will shoot us," George Karatzaferis, head of the far-right LAOS party told Flash radio, referring to the country's lenders. "How can I tell the people that they will not have wages and pensions anymore? Either we keep all that -- but on a reduced level -- and let Greece take a blow on its head, or it's a meltdown. Unfortunately, that's our situation." Athens is under pressure to wrap up its share of talks before a meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Monday to agree the bailout package and the debt swap. A deal on a debt swap is largely in place, bankers and officials say, but action by the European Central Bank and other public creditors to further cut Greece's debt has emerged as a sticking point. Both sides are worried the debt swap, in which investors incur losses of about 70 percent to ease Greece's debt burden by 100 billion euros, will not do enough to bring Greece's debt down to the 120 percent of GDP level considered sustainable. Jean-Claude Juncker, chairman of euro zone finance ministers, described the talks as "ultra-difficult," though European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn later said a deal would be agreed by the end of the week. TOUGH TALKS The debt swap is not expected to be finalized in any case until Athens can persuade foreign lenders it is serious about pushing through reforms to reshape the economy and deserves funds from the bailout drawn up in October. Doubting Athens' commitment to reform, the "troika" of European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund lenders have demanded it deliver immediately on measures like lowering the minimum wage and cutting holiday bonuses. But those demands have met resistance from local officials who fear further cuts could deepen an already brutal recession and heap new burdens on long-suffering Greeks. The two sides still need to reach agreement on major issues like wages, pensions and the recapitalization of banks on Thursday before Papademos can present the plan to political leaders, the government says. "The discussions are very tough," government spokesman Pantelis Kapsis told MEGA television on Thursday. "On the one side, there is pressure to restore the economy's competitiveness fast. We are saying that there is clearly an issue of competitiveness. On the other hand, there is also the question of recession which is very important for Greece." The lenders have demanded extra spending cuts worth about 1 percent of GDP - or just above 2 billion euros - this year, including big cuts in defense and health spending. 'TEN RED LINES' With the country dependent on bailout funds for survival, Athens acknowledges it has little bargaining power despite a public outcry against round after round of austerity that has driven up unemployment and spurred near-daily protests. "In the end, we'll have 10 red lines and the need to make a decision: Are we going to stick to those red lines or do we want the loan? It's that simple," said Kapsis when asked if Athens would draw the line on imposing more pain on its people. The initial trigger for the euro zone debt crisis, Greece is now in its fifth year of recession. Spending cuts and tax hikes have failed to put the country's finances back on track and instead led to bouts of social unrest. Unemployment hit a record high of 18.4 percent in August last year and nearly one in two Greek youth are out of work. Economists polled by Reuters expect the Greek economy to shrink 3.7 percent this year after a 6 percent slump last year. In the latest evidence of the toil the economic pain is taking on ordinary Greeks, Athens Archbishop Ieronimos wrote to Papademos on the growing "nightmare" imposed by lenders. "They are asking for even bigger doses of a medicine that has proven lethal," he wrote. "They are asking us for commitments which do not solve the problems but delay -- only temporarily -- the pre-announced death of our economy, while putting our national sovereignty at risk at the same time." Without the second bailout and a debt swap deal with private bondholders, a chaotic default could come as early as March 20, when Athens must buy back 14.5 billion euros of debt. "As a country, we are on the verge of an official default," Kapsis said. "We have borrowed a lot of money all these years and we now have our backs against the wall. We need to make our own decisions. Nobody will get us out of this situation." (Writing by Deepa Babington; Editing by John Stonestreet) World Greece Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. 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