Greece on Monday faced the prospect of new elections after politicians failed to narrow divisions over a painful EU-IMF bailout accord. EU partners have been pressing for a coalition government deal to avoid its exit from the euro.
President Karolos Papoulias summoned four party leaders for another round of talks Monday evening after they failed to break the impasse the day before. But the talks appeared doomed long before they began, as the leader of the radical leftist, anti-bailout SYRIZA party said he would not attend and another leftist leader refused to take part in any coalition unless SYRIZA was on board.
The support of at least one of those two leftist parties is crucial for conservative and Socialist parties to renew a pro-bailout coalition to steer Greece out of trouble.
Pedestrians pass a plaque portraying a Greek one-drachma coin, which was replaced
by the euro in 2002, outside Athens City Hall, on Monday, May 14, 2012. Greek
party leaders are to resume power-sharing talks Monday as negotiations to create
a government drag into a second week, raising the specter of fresh elections
that could threaten the crisis-stricken country's international bailout and
its membership of the euro.
Greece's President Karolos Papoulias attends a
meeting with the Leader of the Independent Greeks
party Panos Kammenos (not pictured) at the
presidential palace in Athens May 13, 2012.
中国公共网摘编:GAN JADE |