Political parties

Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan is … strong.

Victory Party Chair Ümit Özdağ said on May 23 that his party will continue discussions with Republican People's Party (CHP) leader and Nation Alliance's presidential candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu on the issue of lending support for his candidacy in the presidential election runoff.

New Democracy's triumph is a given. No matter what happens in June's election - whether the governing party's share goes even higher, or goes down if certain PASOK-leaning voters return to their natural "home" after supporting the center-right last Sunday as they were concerned about SYRIZA returning to power - New Democracy will form a single-party government.

Greece's leftists will receive an official mandate on Tuesday to form a coalition government after an inconclusive national election, but are expected to seek a second vote instead.

The conservative New Democracy party romped to victory with 40.8% of the vote in Sunday's poll which sent the leftist SYRIZA into a tailspin after taking 20.1% of the vote.

European Parliament chief Roberta Metsola congratulated Premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis for his election win on Sunday's voting, saying Greece needs a "strong government."

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis declined to seek a coalition on Monday following this weekend's inconclusive election, paving the way for a second vote in June that he hopes his conservative party will win outright.

The main opposition will focus on winning back some ground in the next electoral battle set for June 25, after the party suffered a crushing defeat on Sunday's general election, according to SYRIZA sources on Monday.

Greece's bond prices outperformed their peers on Monday as investors reckoned the outcome of general elections was unlikely to lead to a deviation from the current fiscal discipline.

An hour before GERB-SDS returned a completed mandate to the president in the National Assembly, candidates for prime minister of GERB-SDS Mariya Gabriel and "We Continuing the Change-Democratic Bulgaria" Nikolay Denkov gave a briefing, at which it became clear that the first mandate will not be fulfilled, as the two political forces have reached an agreement on a cabinet.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday he will not seek to form a coalition government following this weekend's election, paving the way for a second vote in June he hopes his conservative party will win outright.