Greek party leaders set fresh election date
- 12 years ago
One by one, they arrived - a plethora of Greek political leaders hoping to lead the country out of its latest crisis.
Party leaders including right wing Independent Greeks party leader Panos Kammenos, leftwing Syriza party leader Alexis Tsipras, Democratic Left party leader Fotis Kouvelis, Communist Party leader Aleka Papariga, Socialist PASOK party leader Evangelos Venizelos and New Democracy Party leader Antonis Samaras met with President Karolos Papoulias to agree a date for a new election, after failing to cobble together a coalition government earlier this month.
Greece will now hold a fresh election on June 17 - its second in just over a month.
Party leaders also agreed to appoint a senior judge as a caretaker prime minister until the vote.
But the crisis is far from over, with polls suggesting the balance of power in June may well tip towards Greece's leftist parties, who are opposed to tough bailout conditions imposed by the EU.
That prospect has shaken faith in Greece's ability to remain in the single currency and stay solvent - leading EU policy makers to warn they would stop sending the debt-strapped country the cash it desperately needs to stay afloat.
Sunita Rappai, Reuters
Party leaders including right wing Independent Greeks party leader Panos Kammenos, leftwing Syriza party leader Alexis Tsipras, Democratic Left party leader Fotis Kouvelis, Communist Party leader Aleka Papariga, Socialist PASOK party leader Evangelos Venizelos and New Democracy Party leader Antonis Samaras met with President Karolos Papoulias to agree a date for a new election, after failing to cobble together a coalition government earlier this month.
Greece will now hold a fresh election on June 17 - its second in just over a month.
Party leaders also agreed to appoint a senior judge as a caretaker prime minister until the vote.
But the crisis is far from over, with polls suggesting the balance of power in June may well tip towards Greece's leftist parties, who are opposed to tough bailout conditions imposed by the EU.
That prospect has shaken faith in Greece's ability to remain in the single currency and stay solvent - leading EU policy makers to warn they would stop sending the debt-strapped country the cash it desperately needs to stay afloat.
Sunita Rappai, Reuters