ATHENS: Greece’s high-stakes presidential election went into a second round yesterday after parliament failed to pick a head of state in a first ballot, fuelling concerns about the future of fiscal reforms.
The coalition government of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras failed to muster the required 200 out of 300 MPs to elect its nominee, former EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas, meaning a second vote will be held on December 23.
The looming political stalemate has alarmed international markets, pushing up the yield of Greek bonds and prompting EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker to recently warn the nation against delivering the “wrong” election result.
“We have two more votes. I am hopeful that a president will be elected,” the premier said in reaction to the result. “The country is facing difficult conditions and I am certain that MPs realise that the country should not face an adventure,” Samaras said.
The official count showed a total of just 160 deputies voted for Dimas, nearly all of them from the government majority, which has 155 MPs. Should a third and final round be required on December 29, Dimas would need just 180 votes for the post — but a third failure will bring early elections.
“Clearly this result means early elections,” said Panos Kammenos, leader of the small nationalist Independent Greeks party.
The government brought forward the election from February, when it will be locked in delicate negotiations with the cash-starved country’s creditors, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
But the gamble to stave off uncertainty during those talks may well backfire, given the government’s slender 155-seat majority in the chamber — and the rise of the opposition radical leftist party Syriza, which wants to end a four-year austerity drive and re-negotiate Greece’s bailout.
Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras yesterday said a “fear campaign” by the government had collapsed, and that voters would soon have their say. “Very soon our people will take centre stage in developments,” Tsipras told reporters.
AFP
