Political parties

Golden Dawn party MPs Nikos Michos (L), Ilias Panagiotaros (C) and Ilias Kasidiaris (R) walk away from the Court House of Athens, 2 October 2013. Photo: EPA/ALEXANDROS VLACHOS

Conservative New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis pushed for a second election after failing to win an outright majority in legislative elections held on May 21.

GERB have requested that more of their ministers be included in the "Denkov" draft cabinet, in which only the name of Mariya Gabriel as the future Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs has been announced. This was confirmed by the candidate for prime minister from WCC-DB Nikolay Denkov after a question from the National Radio, specifying that they are not inclined to comply.

The interrogation of GERB leader Boyko Borissov at the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office in the "Barcelonagate" case has ended. On leaving the building on "Cherkovna" Street, the politician and his lawyer Menko Menkov were laconic.

"I just want to thank people for being empathetic to me and what is happening. We will not comment on anything, because nothing is different".

Following its disastrous showing in the May 21 election, where it lost more than 11 percentage points, main opposition SYRIZA is now talking about preventing Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his New Democracy party from becoming too powerful by clawing back some of the 20-percentage point gap separating the two big parties.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pledged on May 24 to ensure that the legislature, executive and judiciary organs would work in harmony in the coming period.

"We will do this with your support," Erdoğan said at a rally in the capital Ankara.

Victory Party Chairman Ümit Özdağ announced on May 24 that they will support Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the candidate of the Nation Alliance, in the presidential election runoff.

Greek parties that made it to the parliament after last weekend's inconclusive elections are expected to meet on Wednesday in a last-ditch effort to form a coalition government.

But the process is not expected to succeed as the top three parties have already rejected separate mandates to form a coalition, opening the way for new elections next month.

The stunning result of the first election last Sunday has already been recorded in electoral history, but ruling New Democracy is pursuing mild tones ahead of the next election on 25 June, sensing the lairs that could be set in its path by complacency.

Greece is heading toward a new general election, two days after Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' center-right New Democracy party won a victory in a national vote but failed to clinch a majority in parliament.

One of the most muted elections since the restoration of democracy ended with a very loud bang on Sunday, with incumbent New Democracy winning a clear mandate for another four-year term (with the second election in June almost certainly being nothing more than a confirmation) and main opposition SYRIZA living up to the saying that if you don't work for a thing, things won't work out for you.