Greece formally dissolved parliament on Wednesday ahead of a general election on Jan. 25 that has cast its international bailout into doubt and set financial markets on edge just as the euro zone grapples with renewed signs of weakness. The traditional decree calling new elections was posted on the door to parliament two days after lawmakers rejected Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ candidate for president, automatically triggering a return to the polls. The Jan. 25 vote will mark a showdown between Samaras’ conservative New Democracy party, which imposed unpopular budget cuts under Greece’s bailout deal, and the leftwing Syriza party of Alexis Tsipras, who wants to cancel austerity measures along with a chunk of Greek debt.
Opinion polls show Syriza holding a lead over New Democracy, although its margin has narrowed to about three percentage points in the run-up to the vote.
However weakness among the small parties that either Syriza or New Democracy would need to form a stable coalition has also added to the uncertainty and raised the possibility that the next government may not survive long.
Full Article: Greece formally dissolves parliament ahead of election | Reuters.
