New Greek poll looms as government efforts founder
Source: Reuters
(Reuters) - Greece's two mainstream parties rejected a coalition led by radical leftist Alexis Tsipras, forcing the country closer to having to re-run Sunday's inconclusive election that saw voters overwhelmingly reject its EU/IMF bailout.
The election, in which Greeks vented rage over economic hardship and deserted the mainstream parties that negotiated the bailout, left an intractable political deadlock and triggered threats from Europe to eject Greece from the euro.
The conservative New Democracy and Socialist PASOK parties, which between them dominated Greek politics for decades and jointly negotiated last year's 130 billion euro bailout, received less than a third of votes and fell two seats short of a majority needed to form a government.
Greek finance ministry officials have warned the country might run out of cash by the end of June if it does not have a government in place to negotiate a next aid tranche.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/09/us-greece-idUSBRE8440DG20120509
What a mess
Berlin Expat
(950 posts)boned.
There's a chance that in a new election, the Coalition of the Left might poll just enough to form a functional majority, but then again one never knows.
I still say the Greeks should realize that they're pretty much hosed, and sell themselves back to the Turks. Maybe an apology for that whole "being-independent-from-the-Ottoman-Empire" is an order. Turkey's economy is chugging along quite nicely so far; I myself am seriously looking into moving there, insha'Allah.
Jack Rabbit
(45,984 posts)The Greek people have rejected austerity. They have embraced the principle that the people's government is expected to protect from predatory bankers in Germany, London or New York and thrown from office those who had other ideas.
muriel_volestrangler
(101,367 posts)and then they'd be able to form an anti-austerity majority in the parliament (without the neo-Nazis, whom, thankfully, no-one is willing to include in a coalition).