Greece 'may delay election'

A junior partner in debt-stricken Greece's new interim government says the next national election may be held later than the provisional February 19 date to allow the coalition to complete its mandate.

Giorgos Karatzaferis, leader of the right-wing populist LAOS party, said the three-party coalition was finding it difficult to operate under the "very tight deadline" set when the government was formed on November 11.

The coalition government - headed by former central banker Lucas Papademos - includes Greece's majority Socialists, LAOS and the main opposition conservatives.

Its mandate is to restart emergency loan payments and secure a massive new rescue deal from eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund.