This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/23/greece-presidential-vote-second-round
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Greek presidential vote goes to third round | Greek presidential vote goes to third round |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Greece’s prime minister, Antonis Samaras, failed to capture the support needed to elect a new president in a second round of voting on Tuesday and now needs a further 12 votes in the final round next week to avert a snap general election. | |
| Samaras’s nominee, Stavros Dimas, the only candidate in the race, had not been expected to succeed in the second round, and the score of 168 votes was broadly in line with expectations. | Samaras’s nominee, Stavros Dimas, the only candidate in the race, had not been expected to succeed in the second round, and the score of 168 votes was broadly in line with expectations. |
| But it leaves the result of the decisive third round on 29 December, when Samaras needs 180 votes, finely balanced. There were 131 blank votes on Tuesday, which count against the candidate, and one absentee. | |
| Parliament must elect a president or a general election will have to be held by early February, potentially bringing in the leftwing Syriza party, which wants to renegotiate Greece’s international bailout and roll back the austerity policies of recent years. | Parliament must elect a president or a general election will have to be held by early February, potentially bringing in the leftwing Syriza party, which wants to renegotiate Greece’s international bailout and roll back the austerity policies of recent years. |
| At the weekend Samaras offered to bring pro-European independents into his government and to hold early elections late next year if Dimas is elected. | At the weekend Samaras offered to bring pro-European independents into his government and to hold early elections late next year if Dimas is elected. |
| Both the Democratic Left, which left the ruling coalition last year, and Independent Greeks, a rightwing anti-bailout party, have said they will not vote for Dimas. | Both the Democratic Left, which left the ruling coalition last year, and Independent Greeks, a rightwing anti-bailout party, have said they will not vote for Dimas. |
| But it is unclear how much discipline they can impose on their members, and a furious round of lobbying and telephone calls is likely over Christmas. Minutes before Tuesday’s vote two Democratic Left MPs announced they were leaving the party to sit as independents. | |
| Financial markets and Greece’s European partners have been watching the presidential election closely, although after the crisis measures of the past two years most analysts believe there is now less risk of wider contagion, with most Greek debt held by official creditors. | Financial markets and Greece’s European partners have been watching the presidential election closely, although after the crisis measures of the past two years most analysts believe there is now less risk of wider contagion, with most Greek debt held by official creditors. |
| Syriza still leads in the opinion polls but its advantage has narrowed over recent weeks and a survey at the weekend gave it a lead of 3.4 points. The party has sounded a more moderate note lately, seeking to reassure Europe that it would be a responsible negotiating partner and would keep Greece in the euro. But a victory in a general election would signal a shift in the politics of the eurozone, for the first time bringing in a government openly opposed to the Brussels consensus that has governed the bloc’s response to the wider crisis. | Syriza still leads in the opinion polls but its advantage has narrowed over recent weeks and a survey at the weekend gave it a lead of 3.4 points. The party has sounded a more moderate note lately, seeking to reassure Europe that it would be a responsible negotiating partner and would keep Greece in the euro. But a victory in a general election would signal a shift in the politics of the eurozone, for the first time bringing in a government openly opposed to the Brussels consensus that has governed the bloc’s response to the wider crisis. |