Greece in a race to avoid early elections

ATHENS: The race was on Thursday in Greece to forestall early elections -- and a possible blow to the country's fiscal reforms -- hours after parliament failed to elect a new president.

Only 160 deputies on Wednesday supported the government candidate, former EU commissioner Stavros Dimas, far short of the needed 200.

Now the focus is shifting to December 23 when parliament will vote in a second round, once again requiring 200 votes for Dimas to win.

"First ballot below expectations," commented the liberal daily Kathimerini, adding that as far as the government was concerned, "a battle may have been lost but the war can still be won."

Greece's stock market opened down, but quickly recovered in a sign that for now the financial sector is holding its nerve.

However, the clock is now ticking on chances to avoid a political crisis that could in turn derail painful economic reforms aimed at putting one of the EU's most troubled economies back on track.

International markets are watching in alarm, with Greek bond yields rising and EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker recently warning the nation against delivering the "wrong" election result.

Should a third and final round be required on December 29, Dimas would need just 180 votes. However, a third failure would trigger dissolving of parliament and early elections.

Centre-left Ta Nea daily commented that the situation resembles a "difficult crossword puzzle" for the government, which will need to do more to win support from independent deputies -- with only five of the 24 backing Dimas in the first round.

"The race is on to find 20 lawmakers in 11 days," wrote pro-government daily Eleftheros Typos.

The government brought forward the election from February, when it will be locked in delicate negotiations with the cash-starved country's creditors, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

The government was hoping to settle the political landscape ahead of those talks, but the gamble may backfire.

With 155 deputies, the government only has the slenderest of majorities in parliament and is facing a growing challenge from the radical leftist party Syriza, which wants to end a four-year austerity drive and re-negotiate Greece's EU bailout.

According to a recent poll, more than 50 percent of Greeks oppose early elections, which would be the second in two years.