The Greek coalition process is dragging
The Greek coalition negotiations remain slow amid mounting pressure to get on with the campaign process ahead of a widely expected snap election in September.
"Don't bother with tricks aimed at delaying the elections. These won’t get anywhere and the people understand this," Former prime minister Alexis Tsipras told senior government and Syriza members yesterday.
His comments were reportedly aimed at rival Evangelos Meimarakis, head of the New Democracy party.
Greece's constitution gives the three biggest parties three days each to try and form a new coalition if a government resigns after less than year. Tomorrow Greece's President Prokopis Pavlopoulos will invite the former Syriza rebels to form a new administration in this period.
Only when these efforts have failed – something commentators describe as an almost certainty – can the President appoint a caretaker prime minister and call elections. Meanwhile the crisis-stricken country is left without a government following Tsipras resignation after just eight months on Thursday.
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Greece must implement economic reforms to get further disbursements from its €86bn (£62bn) three year bailout programme agreed after months of negotiations with creditors. But there are concerns that a lack of stable government reduce the speed of this.
At the same time, Greece is struggling with thousands of migrants who are hoping to reach more prosperous countries in northern Europe. Many land on Greek islands in small boats and are fleeing from war-torn countries in the Middle East.