Political parties

"If it's possible that I became speaker, it's possible that a certain kind of unexpected coalition could be formed which today might seem like a mission impossible," Tonin said in an interview with the STA.

Felicity Party (SP) leader Temel Karamollaoğlu, whose party only won 1.3 percent of the votes in the June 24 elections, has admitted defeat in the polls but vowed they will "keep on telling the truth."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel walks past Alexander Gauland (L), parliamentary group co-leader of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), at the beginning of a session at the Bundestag (lower house of parliament) on June 28, 2018 in Berlin. AFP PHOTO / John MACDOUGALL

The coalition government's economic policies are threatening Greece with a fresh cycle of austerity, the leader of the country's main opposition party told Deutsche Welle on Wednesday.

Amid uncertainty over the outcome of the name deal reached between Athens and Skopje two weeks ago, the prime minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Zoran Zaev, has urged Greeks not to be frightened of his country.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who has come under fire within his party after another election loss against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), has refuted calls for his resignation.

Giorgos Lazaridis, the independent MP who stepped down from Independent Greeks (ANEL) on Tuesday, reducing the governing coalition's majority to 152 lawmakers in the 300-seat House, has denied accusations that he was bribed into leaving the small right-wing party.

Protesters who on Tuesday evening took to the streets in Bucharest and nationwide demanded the resignation of the government headed by Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and national leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), major at rule, and Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Liviu Dragnea.

The resignation of a lawmaker from the Greek government's junior partner, the Independent Greeks party, does not pose a threat to the ruling coalition, the government's spokesman said on Tuesday.

The censure motion does not have the necessary votes to pass without breaking the PSD-ALDE [Social Democratic Party -Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, ed.n.] coalition, UDMR chairman Kelemen Hunor said on Tuesday.