Greece to return to polls after stalemate

Leftist leader Alexis Tsipras gave up his attempt to form a government yesterday, pushing Greece closer to its second election in a few weeks, after voter rejection of an EU/IMF bailout plunged the country into crisis.

Last Sunday’s election, in which voters vented rage against mainstream parties over debt-cutting measures imposed in exchange for the bailout, has caused deep political deadlock and brought European threats to eject Greece from the euro.

European governments kept the country solvent for the moment by agreeing to make a €4.2bn payment today from the region’s bailout fund to enable Athens to meet short-term bond redemptions.