Greece’s left-wing Syriza party is preparing to launch coalition talks hours after a landmark general election victory fought on a pledge to rewrite the country’s massive bailout deal with the eurozone.
Alexis Tsipras’s Syriza just missed a majority in parliament after defeating Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ conservative coalition by a wider than expected margin.
With 99.8 percent of the vote counted, Syriza won 149 seats in the 300-member parliament with 36.3 percent of the vote. The conservatives were on 27.8 percent, and the extreme right Golden Dawn party in third place with 6.28 percent.
Tsipras is to meet the leader of the right wing Independent Greeks party, an anti-bailout ally, on Monday morning, with the party already expressing willingness to join a coalition.
The head of leftist Syriza party Alexis Tsipras speaks to supporters after winning the elections in Athens on Sunday. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)
