Initial efforts for Greek coalition gov't fail

The Associated Press

AP Photo/Aris Messinis, pool
Greek President Karolos Papoulias, right, meets with conservative election winner Antonis Samaras, to formally give him the mandate to form a coalition government, in Athens on May 7, 2012. Greek conservative leader Antonis Samaras, whose pro-austerity party came first in national elections but fell well short of a governing majority, is currently trying to form a new coalition government. Samaras has three days in which to build an alliance, after receiving the formal mandate from President Karolos Papoulias Monday.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The leader of the Greek conservative party that gained the most votes in parliamentary elections said Monday his efforts to form a coalition government with other parties had failed, raising the possibility of a new election next month.

Conservative leader Antonis Samaras said his attempts to convince the heads of all the parties that might have been open to a coalition did not succeed, and that he had handed back the mandate to form a government to the country's president.

Greeks furious at how the two main parties have handled the financial crisis that left the country reliant on international bailouts deserted Samaras' conservative New Democracy and the socialist PASOK parties in droves Sunday, voting instead for smaller, and sometime extreme, parties on the left and right.

Already a subscriber?
Sign in to read full article.
Not a subscriber?
Subscribe now and get full access!

Or... enter your email and start reading this article now:

May 07, 2012

Save article


1. Philip Vorgias wrote on May 07, 2012 2:09 PM	LOL, that didn't take long. They're throwing around the PM's job like a hot potatoe! It's easy to criticise, much harder to lead. For those with knowledge about how Greek elections work, does the Papademas government stay in power until replaced by a new government? Do they have any authority to make decisions?

2. Basil Zafiriou wrote on May 07, 2012 3:22 PM	The Papademos government remains in office until a new government is sworn in. It retains the power to decide and act as any other government, subject to the country’s laws and Constitution.

3. Philip Vorgias wrote on May 07, 2012 10:40 PM	Thanks for the clarification, Basil.
You must sign in in order to post a comment.

Saturday, May 18, 2013 Last Update: 1:22 PM ET