Syriza

 Benchmark suffers biggest drop in 27 years as foreign investors rush to sell on fears of snap general election

The presidential elections may not have started yet but that did not prevent SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras from fully turning his attention to the prospect of snap national polls on Tuesday.

A decision on Monday by Greece's coalition government to move forward the election for a new president constitutes a "significant popular and democratic victory," opposition SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras said on Tuesday.

By Nikos Chrysoloras & Antonis Galanopoulos

Greek stocks and bonds slumped after Prime Minister Antonis Samaras opted to bring forward the process of choosing a new head of state, risking parliamentary elections in Europe’s most indebted state as early as January.

Former Prime Minister and New Democracy Honorary Chairman Constantinos Mitsotakis expresses his disappointment in a decision Monday by the coalition government to move forward presidential elections by two months in an interview with state-run Vouli television, due to be broadcast on Thursday, Kathimerini has learned.

The Greek government has decided that Parliament will have a vote on the new head of state two months earlier.

Lawmakers will pick the country's next President on December 17, and not on February 15.

Government spokeswoman Sofia Voultepsi announced Monday that a first round of votes for the presidential election will be held on December 17, underlining the need for Greek authorities to focus on troika talks following a decision by eurozone officials to approve a short extension to Greece’s bailout and to curb political uncertainty.

Greece's conservative-led government has called for a vote in parliament for the country's new president late this month — in a surprise move that will determine its survival in the recession-weary country.

SYRIZA MP Yiannis Micheloyiannakis, who announced on Saturday that he was going on hunger strike in solidarity with Syrian refugees protesting outside the Greek Parliament in Athens, responded to criticism after he was seen leaving the protest site to have coffee at a nearby establishment.

Outspoken SYRIZA lawmaker Yiannis Micheloyiannakis (photo, center) announced on Saturday that he was going on hunger strike, citing a series of reasons ranging from solidarity for dozens of Syrian refugees who have been protesting outside Parliament, as well as austerity policies and the government’s refusal to grant study furloughs to jailed bank robber and anarchist Nikos Romanos.