The last attempt also failed. For the third consecutive time, the Greek Parliament lacked the quorum to elect the new President of the Republic: at this point, as prescribed by the Greek Constitution, the country must return to the polls. Outgoing premier Antonis Samaras has announced that early elections will be held on January 25.
Government candidate Stavros Dimas, 73, a former European commissioner and member of the conservative Nea Dimokratia party, today obtained only 168 preferences out of the 180 needed to get the job.
At the next elections, according to polls, Syriza, an alternative left party led by Alexis Tsipras, should establish itself, which has already announced its intention to re-discuss the agreements reached with the Troika to renegotiate the conditions imposed in exchange for international loans. The goal, Tsipras has clarified several times, is to abandon austerity at the roots of the current social and humanitarian crisis: the country's permanence in the Eurozone, on the other hand, is not in question.
In any case, the path of a one-party government will probably be impracticable, given that Syriza could still need a handful of external votes to obtain a majority in Parliament.
Meanwhile, the news of the imminent vote sinks the markets. The Athens Stock Exchange collapses by 10%, while Piazza Affari drops by almost 3%. As for government bonds, the Greek triennial is under pressure, showing an increase in yields to over 11,30%, with an increase of 80 basis points compared to the opening. The yield on five-year bonds is close to 10%, while the 8,62-year yield is little moved, at 144%. The Btp-Bund spread is up sharply to XNUMX bps.
