Greece parties in emergency talks with president over new government

A final push to form a national unity government that can pull Greece out of its power vacuum since inconclusive elections a week ago is under way in Athens, where party leaders have begun emergency talks with the country's head of state. Amid heightened concerns over the crisis-hit nation's ability to remain in the eurozone and a potentially tumultuous new round of elections if the negotiations fail, President Carolos Papoulias attempted to put on a brave face, beaming as the party chiefs arrived. "The Greek people didn't simply send us a message, it gave a mandate," said Antonis Samaras the conservative New Democracy leader entering the neo-classical presidential palace. "A mandate for all of us to co-operate, to change policies but at the same time remain in the euro, a mandate for a viable government at least until the European elections [in 2014]." Breaking up some 90 minutes later – ostensibly over a snag — officials said the talks, expected to continue into the week, would resume when Papoulias met the leaders of smaller parties later in the day. "The moment of truth has come. We either form a government or we go to elections," said Evangelos Venizelos, the socialist Pasok party chief, emerging from the negotiations. New Democracy, like its longtime mainstream rival Pasok, was hammered at the ballot box for daring to support the arduous terms of a debt relief deal drawn up by the EU and IMF to keep the country's heavily indebted economy afloat. Instead, voters opted to support anti-austerity groups whose popularity has soared on the back of anger over cutbacks and controversial reforms enforced in return for up to €240bn (£193bn) in aid. Chief among the winners was the radical Left Coalition (Syriza), which came in second place, promising to revise the loan accord Athens has signed with foreign lenders. On Sunday, the new political demographic was on full display. As leaders entered the room for the talks, the Syriza party head, Alexis Tsipras, assumed what some commentators described as a commanding position by choosing to sit to the left of the president, alone. His opponents, Samaras and Venizelos, sat opposite, exchanging strained smiles as the much younger Tsipras bantered in front of the cameras. The 38-year-old leader has much to be happy – and immovable — about. A third public opinion poll on Sunday showed that seven days after Greece's electoral earthquake, voters are bent on sending further tremors through the country's highly volatile political landscape. The survey, conducted by Kappa Research for To Vima, showed support for Syriza, which has steadfastly refused to participate in a government backing EU-mandated cuts, climbing from its present 16.8% to 20.5% in the event of fresh elections. New Democracy would likely win 18.1% of the vote compared with 12.2% for Pasok – their lowest showings ever in the near 40 years that both parties have dominated the political scene. Emboldened by the ratings, Tsipras threw down the gauntlet, taunting his opponents "to go ahead" with the formation of a government. After all, he said, three parties – New Democracy, Pasok and the small pro-European Democratic Left – had agreed to participate in a coalition that would implement the unpopular policies, and with 168 MPs between them, they had a working majority. "Those who for two years have governed us and are responsible for the situation of society and the economy have not only not got the message ... they are continuing to blackmail and terrorise," he said in a statement after the talks. "The three parties that have agreed, with the goal of implementing the memorandum," he continued referring to the loan agreement, "have the majority. Let them go ahead. The demand that Syriza participate in their agreement is absurd. They are asking us to ignore the popular vote and our pre-elections pledges." But highlighting the contradictions that have also come to play in the unfolding Greek drama, an overwhelming 78.1% of Greeks also said they wanted the new government to do whatever it took to retain the euro. Cash-strapped Athens has enough money to survive financially until the end of June after which it will be unable to cover the pay and pension packages of public sector employees. The negotiations follow a week of abortive attempts to form a coalition as each of the three party leaders – Samaras, Tsipras and Venizelos – took receipt of an "exploratory mandate" to try to create a government. With anti-austerity rage clearly fuelling the political dialogue, there is widespread consensus that, short of divine intervention, the octogenarian Papoulias will fail in his attempts to broker a deal. The second world war veteran has until Thursday, when parliament is reconvened, to overcome the faultlines which would save Greece from the protracted political turmoil that inevitably would result from a new round of elections. If headway around the negotiating table in the presidential palace is not made, Greeks will return to the ballot box no later than 17 June.