Winners Scramble to Form Greek Government
New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras faces a daunting task after his pro-euro party won the Greek elections over the weekends: form a coalition government in three days, and do it without the help of the party that finished second in the vote.
New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras faces a daunting task after his pro-euro party won the Greek elections over the weekends: form a coalition government in three days, and do it without the help of the party that finished second in the vote. Alexis Tsipras, leader of the leftist Syriza, said Monday that his party would form the opposition.
Samaras’ next step is to meet with Evangelos Venizelos, who leads the socialist Pasok party.
With the fate of the euro possibly hanging in the balance, what happens in Greece over the next few days will most certainly reverberate around the entire world.
— Posted by Tracy Bloom
WAIT, BEFORE YOU GO…BBC News:
With almost all ballots counted, New Democracy has 29.7% of the vote (129 seats), Syriza 26.9% (71) and Pasok 12.3% (33).
There are 300 seats in parliament and Greece has a rule that gives the leading party 50 extra seats.
However, correspondents point out that only 40% of voters backed parties that broadly support the bailout deal with the EU and the IMF.
Nevertheless, many world leaders hailed the election result.
If you're reading this, you probably already know that non-profit, independent journalism is under threat worldwide. Independent news sites are overshadowed by larger heavily funded mainstream media that inundate us with hype and noise that barely scratch the surface. We believe that our readers deserve to know the full story. Truthdig writers bravely dig beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that tells you what’s really happening and who’s rolling up their sleeves to do something about it.
Like you, we believe a well-informed public that doesn’t have blind faith in the status quo can help change the world. Your contribution of as little as $5 monthly or $35 annually will make you a groundbreaking member and lays the foundation of our work.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.