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Syriza, led by Alexis Tsipras, made big gains to come in second place after campaigning on an anti-bailout platform.Tsipras insists any new government must cancel the austerity measures as he argues the terms are so onerous that they are giving the country's battered economy no chance of recovery.Samaras and Venizelos may join forces with the Democratic Left party of Fotis Kouvelis and form a governing coalition, but all three have insisted they cannot do so without the support of Syriz. "The Greek people didn't just send us a message, they gave us a mandate," Samaras said as he arrived for the meeting with the president. "A mandate of cooperation for all of us to change policy, but also to remain in the euro."
Political turmoil has alarmed Greece's international creditors, persist country must stick to the terms of its rescue deals to continue receiving the funds. Leader of the third-placed PASOK and former finance minister Evangelos Venizelos, met President Karolos Papoulias on Saturday afternoon to return the mandate to him. Papoulias is expected to gather all party leaders early next week in a last-minute bid to discuss ways to launch a coalition government.
The political parties are not expected to reach a compromise even through mediation by the president.
The opposition parties refuse to cooperate with the outgoing ruling parties that are pushing for austerity measures in return for additional bailout funds from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. Thus Speculation is mounting that Greece will have to hold another election early next month,
Media agencies
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