Greek Socialist party leader, Evangelos Venizelos makes his statements to the press after his meeting with the conservative party leader in the Greek parliament in Athens, on June 18, 2012. Evangelos Venizelos said he hoped a new national unity government could be formed on Tuesday, following coalition talks with the conservative leader who won Sunday's elections. AFP PHOTO / LOUISA GOULIAMAKI (Photo credit should read LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/GettyImages)
NICHOLAS PAPHITIS
Associated Press
ATHENS, Greece (AP) - The head of Greece's socialist PASOK party says the country needs to form a government fast, and that negotiations for a coalition must be completed by the end of Tuesday.
Evangelos Venizelos, a former finance minister, said Monday that the "broadest possible" consensus must be found between the parties that won parliamentary seats in Sunday's election.
The conservative New Democracy party won Sunday's ballot, but without enough votes to form a government on its own. PASOK came third. Both have said they will stick to Greece's international bailout commitments, although they want to renegotiate some of the harsh austerity terms taken in return for the international rescue loans.
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6/18/2012 12:20:01 PM (GMT -4:00)
Associated Press