Post date: May 13, 2012 5:19:55 PM
ATHENS, GREECE (MAY 13, 2012) (REUTERS) - Greeks on Sunday (May 13) said they were exhausted and did not want a repeat election, as Greece's president met party leaders in a final bid to cobble together a coalition with hopes dimming after the left party said it would not join a unity government.
Exhausted Greeks, seeing their political leaders stalling in disagreement over the country's massive bailout, say they don't want a fresh poll and fear a return to their old currency, the drachma.
President Karolos Papoulias has one final slim attempt on Sunday to forge a coalition, when he meets later with the smaller parties elected in the last vote.
Earlier, a meeting between the main socialist and conservative parties, and the left SYRIZA party, which came a surprising second in elections and was the key player in the talks, looked to have hit an impasse with SYRIZA saying it could not participate in a pro-bailout government.
Voters are likely to be called to the polls again as soon as mid-June, with opinion polls showing the balance of power tipping towards SYRIZA, opposed to bailouts that averted bankruptcy but deepened a devastating recession.
The President's effort to urge party leaders to form a national unity government looked set to fail on Sunday because of deep splits over the EU/IMF rescue plan.
Neither the pro- nor the anti-bailout camps have enough seats to rule in the hung parliament.
Greeks said they did not want a repeat election and had expected the leaders to cooperate.
"No, I don't want (new elections), because they should cooperate. We are exhausted; we don't want any more of this. They have to cooperate," 48-year-old Kyriakos Kapakoglu told Reuters.
Some also said they feared returning to the drachma.
"If everything comes to ruins - why should I not be scared? I have two children; I am paying for their studies, why should you and I pay for someone else's mistakes? It's not our fault, it's theirs. Yes, I am scared. We are all scared. They (politicians) are being ridiculous, they are not being serious," said pensioner George Padelidis.
"I am frightened, of course I am frightened. Because I cannot understand why they can not find common ground and form a government, that's what we ask of them. We are not asking for something extraordinary. But, apparently, they do not care as much as the Greek people do. I don't know, they are (living) in their own world," said Nicolleta, 42, a doctor.
Political analyst George Tzogopoulos said the European Union would not hesitate to cut funding if Greece did not stick to the program.
"Europe is prepared to cut financing of the country. This will lead to normal and chaotic bankruptcy within the country itself," said Tzogopoulos.
Tzogopoulos said the SYRIZA party of Alexis Tsipras understands the risk involved but it is thirsting for political power. He said European Union and IMF partners could be willing to re-negotiate on some terms of the bailout agreement but until now it has been a lack of trust in Greek political leaders that has hindered them and the leaders' inability to implement reforms on time.
This lack of trust will also appear with Tsipras, whose rhetoric has not gone down well in Europe, said Tzogopoulos.
"SYRIZA certainly understands the risk for Greece, nevertheless the main aim of its leader, Mr. Tsipras, is to win the next election and become the new prime minister of the country. In the case he will be elected the new prime minister he certainly needs to re-negotiate the memorandum with the troika.
Nevertheless, the main problem will be that Chancellor Merkel and the European Union will not be prepared to accept this," said Tsogopoulos.
"It is very hard for the European Union to negotiate with Tsipras. For the moment he has invested in a populistic rhetoric, and he does not suggest any specific measures on how Greece can get out of the crisis," he added.