Progressive parties

New Left, a splinter party from SYRIZA, has denied media reports suggesting that some members are considering a return to the main opposition party.

Former SYRIZA heavyweight Dimitris Vitsas has said that a new political entity could be formed in anticipation of the upcoming European elections.

Vitsas, a former party secretary, recently parted ways with the main opposition, which is grappling with internal discord following the election of new leader Stefanos Kasselakis.

A second opinion poll in as many days as indicated that main opposition SYRIZA is less than two points ahead of third-place socialist PASOK, while ruling New Democracy remains way ahead.

With all 17,258 valid votes cast by Greek citizens abroad in Sunday's general election counted, conservative New Democracy emerged as the most popular party overseas with 43.23% of the vote, a slight increase on its 42.62% share in the May election.

Left-wing SYRIZA came in second place, its 16.61% share down almost 2.5 points on May.

The performance of two parties in particular that did not hold seats in the previous parliament was one of the major surprises of Sunday's general election, despite narrowly missing the 3 percent threshold to enter parliament.

New Democracy records losses in the first poll after the fires, although it maintains a comfortable, double-digit lead over SYRIZA, according to the GPO poll for the newspaper "TA NEA".

Protesters clash with riot police outside Parliament in Athens on Wednesday, as MPs debated an education bill that includes provisions for a university campus security force. Officers used tear gas to disperse the protesters and remanded dozens in custody.

Governing New Democracy still has a double-digit lead over SYRIZA, a public opinion poll released by Pulse showed on Thursday. It gave the center-right party a 39% approval rating, against 23% for the leftist opposition, though both parties slipped one percentage point compared to Pulse's December 12-16 poll.

Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias will hold meetings with representatives of Greece's opposition parties on Monday, as part of their regular briefing on current foreign policy issues.

A 2.5-billion-euro deal for the purchase of 18 Dassault-made Rafale fighter jets from France was ratified by Greece's Parliament on Thursday evening.

The deal passed with an overwhelming majority, securing the support of opposition lawmakers from SYRIZA, Movement for Change and Greek Solution. The Greek Communist Party (KKE) and MeRA25 voted it down.