Panos Kammenos

Leftist SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras on Thursday categorically ruled out any kind of consensus with other political parties before elections.

Former prime minister and New Democracy honorary president Constantinos Mitsotakis on Thursday issued a statement urging local parties to find some common ground and avoid leading the country to early general elections, after a first vote in Parliament for a new president was seen a poor result for the coalition forces.

Panos Kammenos, leader of the anti-bailout Independent Greeks party, on Thursday said he maintained his firm position of not voting in favor of Stavros Dimas, the coalition government's choice for president in the next two rounds of voting coming up on December 23 and 29.

Democratic Left (DIMAR) on Tuesday said that it will not be backing the coalition government's candidate for president in three Parliamentary votes expected to start next week.

The party, which split from the coalition last year, said in an announcement that it will not contribute to "the protraction of the political deadlocks being pursued by the present government."

Independent Greeks leader Panos Kammenos gave evidence on Thursday before prosecutor Panayiotis Panayiotopoulos regarding the party’s latest accusations regarding bribery of MPs.

“The justice system must be allowed, without interference, to complete its investigation,” he said after leaving the prosecutor’s office.

Independent Greeks MP Stavroula Xoulidou is to appear before a Supreme Court prosecutor on Thursday to answer questions regarding claims that she was offered a bribe to back the government's presidential candidate.

A congress held by the anti-austerity Independent Greeks ended on Sunday with all MPs bar one voting in favor of the party not voting for any presidential candidate put forward by the government in March.

“Not one Independent Greeks MP will vote for the president,” said Kammenos after delegates and MPs voted with a show of hands.

Just a day after Independent Greeks MPs agreed to back party leader Panos Kammenos and not vote for any presidential candidate the coalition puts forward in February, lawmaker Panayiotis Melas appeared unsure about his stance on Wednesday.

“If a president is not elected and we go to national elections, this would be a drag on the economy,” said Melas.

A prosecutor investigating reports that entrepreneurs close to the government were gathering money to bribe MPs into backing the coalition’s candidate for crucial presidential elections early next year deemed on Friday that there was inadequate evidence to substantiate such claims and shelved the probe.

Panos Kammenos, leader of the right-wing anti-bailout Independent Greeks party, has called for Karolos Papoulias to quit as President and open the way for early elections.