| Translation: Greek voters are petulant children who don't want to pay for the many mistakes they've made. |
Official projected results showed Evangelos VenizelosÂ’ PASOK party plunging to third place with 13.6 percent and 42 seats in the 300-member parliament. The conservative New Democracy was projected in the lead with 19.18 percent and 109 seats, far below the 151 needed to form a government. The margin of error was 0.5 percentage point.
“A coalition government of the old two-party system would not have sufficient legitimacy or sufficient domestic and international credibility if it would gather a slim majority,” Venizelos said. “A government of national unity with the participation by all the parties that favor a European course, regardless of their positions toward the loan agreements, would have meaning.”
| Doesn't the leader of the leading party get to decide what the coalition will be? Why is Venizelos running his mouth? His party is in third. Perhaps he should let the two leaders work it out and give him a call if they need/want him. |
Voters outraged by GreeceÂ’s protracted financial crisis and the austerity measures imposed in return for international bailouts punished both main parties, turning to smaller anti-bailout groups instead. The leftist Syriza, which was projected in second place with 16.3 percent and 50 seats, has been strongly opposed to GreeceÂ’s bailout agreements.