Coalition of Radical Left (SYRIZA) leader Alexis Tsipras met yesterday with New Democracy party leader Antonis Samaras, PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos and Independent Greeks party leader Panos Kammenos, in the context of exploratory talks aimed at forming a coalition government that will enjoy the confidence of the parliament.

Following the meetings, Tsipras addressed the SYRIZA Parliamentary group announcing that he will hand back the exploratory mandate to the President of the Hellenic Republic. "Our proposal enjoyed wide support in society but a weak one in Parliament. We won't be able to realize our dream for a left government," Tsipras told his Parliamentary group, Greece's second-largest after the May 6 elections.

Today, the mandate will be passed on to Evangelos Venizelos, the leader of the third-placed PASOK party in order to form a government.

"I will receive the mandate from President Karolos Papoulias and continue the national effort," Venizelos said. "We can’t reach a solution now but we will keep trying," he added.