Greek President In Final Bid For Coalition

 

The party leaders have so far failed to form a coalition

 Saturday May 12, 2012

Greece's president will make a last-ditch bid to form an emergency government today after the main parties failed in a third attempt to form a working coalition.

The country needs to act fast to form a government and implement huge budget cuts if it is to meet conditions necessary to receive its IMF-EU bailout and stay part of the eurozone.
Legislative elections last Sunday saw voters punish the mainstream parties and raised the prospect of new elections within weeks amid intense EU pressure over Greek finances.

Greek president Karolos Papoulias

Party leaders have been in talks in a bid to form a coalition government that can deal with the country's economic crisis.
But on Friday Socialist Pasok leader Evangelos Venizelos became the latest to fail to form a government after the radical leftist party Syriza refused to join a pro-austerity coalition.
Mr Venizelos was the third party leader who had tried and failed to cobble together a government after the inconclusive elections.
The Greek president Karolos Papoulias is now expected to urge party leaders to form a government of national salvation but if they cannot agree by next Thursday, new elections will be called.
Mr Venizelos had been hoping to win the support of Syriza, a party deeply opposed to the terms of the 240 billion euro EU-IMF bailout and which surged to second place in Sunday's vote.
Another possible ally, the small Democratic Left party, had earlier said that it would not join a government made up of only Pasok and the conservative New Democracy party that did not include Syriza.

Previously both Syriza and the New Democracy party failed in their own attempts to assemble a coalition government.
German leaders warned on Friday that Athens could expect no more money without reforms and also suggested that the eurozone would cope if the cash-strapped country left the 17-member currency union.
Greece has already committed to finding in June another 11.5 billion euros in savings over the next two years. It also needs to redeem 436 million euros in maturing debt on May 15.
Brussels has now revised downwards its economic forecasts for the country, which is at the epicentre of the eurozone debt crisis.
:: Read more on our dedicated eurozone crisis page
The European Commission said the economy is expected to contract by 4.7% this year and see zero growth next year.
Fitch credit rating agency warned that the emergence of a Greek government "unwilling or unable to abide by the terms of the current EU-IMF programme would increase the risk of Greece leaving the eurozone".
"If they are required, the re-run elections will therefore be a critical event for both Greece and for the eurozone," it said in a note.

 

 

 

.Culled from Skynews