Greek parties again fail to form coalition

Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece

A second round of talks to form a coalition government collapsed Wednesday, with Greece’s future in the euro and commitment to its international bailout deal in the balance and the specter of new elections looming ever larger.

Sunday’s election threw the country’s political scene into turmoil after voters angered by years of Europe’s harshest austerity program — implemented to secure vital international bailouts and fend off bankruptcy — hammered mainstream politicians but left no party with enough seats in Parliament to govern alone.

Alexis Tsipras, head of the runner-up Radical Left Coalition, or Syriza, met with heads of parties across the political spectrum as he tried and failed to win support for Greece’s first left-wing-led government in four decades of democratic rule.

The political uncertainty has alarmed Greece’s international creditors, who have insisted the country must stick to the cost- cutting terms of its bailout.