(ANSA-AP) - ATHENS - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras
called for an early national election following the defeat of
his party at the European Parliament elections.
Tsipras said from the Syriza party offices that "the result
does not rise to our expectations ... I will not ignore it or
quit."
Tsipras credited his government for pulling the country out
of the austerity imposed by Greece's creditors and said that
voting for Sunday's winner, the conservative New Democracy,
would be turning back to "the darkness of austerity, the
darkness off crisis, the oligarchs, the International Monetary
Fund."
The government's term expires in October and before Sunday
night's announcement, government officials insisted that
elections would be held at the end of the term. But a long and,
it is said, contentious meeting of government ministers and
party officials, ended with the announcement of the early
election. Tsipras said he will visit the Greek president to
request the early dissolution of parliament after the second
round of local and regional elections on June 2. This puts the
election date at June 30 at the earliest.
On Monday, Greece's stock market has opened up 5 per cent,
the morning after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called snap
general elections following a resounding defeat of his left-wing
Syriza party in European elections.
Official results from 75% of the vote Monday showed the
conservative New Democracy party more than 9.5 percentage points
ahead of Syriza, with 33.26 percent, compared to the governing
party's 23.75 percent. (ANSA-AP).
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