Greece to hold new vote after stalemate

The office of President Karolos Papoulias announced on Tuesday that the Greek leader asked all parties to attend a meeting on Wednesday to arrange a caretaker government to conduct the second elections.

The fresh votes, expected on June 17, follow a political impasse that has left Greece without a government since May 6 elections, after no party gained enough seats in parliament to form a government. The leaders of the conservative, radical left and socialist parties, which took the top three places in the elections, failed to build a coalition last week.

“We are going again towards elections, in a few days, under very bad conditions,” socialist Pasok party leader Evangelos Venizelos said Tuesday. “The Greek people must now make the right decisions for the good of the country.”

Greece’s political uncertainty has led to market falls across Europe and Asia. Following the collapse of talks on Tuesday, European stocks dropped and the euro fell below $1.28, a four-month low.

Latest figures show that the Greek economy has also shrunk 6.2 percent in the first quarter of 2012, raising further doubts about the country’s ailing financial status.

Radical leftist leader Alexis Tsipras, whose Syriza party came in second in elections due to his pledge to overturn the austerity measures, called on Greeks to continue resisting pro-bailout parties. Opinion polls suggest his party could become the largest party after the coming election.

The country’s political and economic turmoil led to mounting concerns among eurozone financial ministers that Athens would not comply with the austerity measures it agreed to with its European neighbors in exchange for endorsement of the second financial bailout, and would finally leave the bloc.

SAB/GHN/MA

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