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Greek ND party leader starts coalition talks

Xinhua, June 19, 2012

• Greek New Democracy party (ND) leader Antonis Samaras will start consultations with other parties' leaders on Monday to form a coalition government, following his party's victory in parliamentary elections.

  "I will seek to form a long-term national salvation government coalition with pro-European and pro-euro parties to make the necessary changes to the economic program in order to exit the crisis," Samaras told reporters after receiving the mandate from President Karolos Papoulias to form a coalition cabinet.

  Wishing Samaras success, Papoulias said that Greece needs a government as soon as possible. Under the Greek Constitution, Samaras has only three days to form his cabinet.

  Samaras is expected to start meetings with, among others, anti-bailout Radical Left Syriza party chief Alexis Tsipras, who campaigned for a radical change to the current painful austerity plan.

  The ND won 129 seats in the 300-seat parliament, or 29.66 percent of the vote, beating SYRIZA, which scored 26.89 percent. Due to the failure to win an overwhelming parliamentary majority, it has to seek coalition partners.

  Caretaker Prime Minister Panayiotis Pikrammenos will remain in office until a coalition government is formed.

  Political analysts in Athens argued that Samaras could form a coalition government with socialist PASOK party that ranked the third and Democratic Left.

  If Samaras fails again to clinch a deal, as happened after the May 6 elections, the mandate is handed over to the leaders of the second and third largest parties. In case of an impasse, a third round of election could be held.

  Local analysts said that re-election is not very much likely because of mounting pressure from home and abroad for the formation of a government that is expected to curb the debt crisis and to keep Greece remaining in the euro zone.

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