Greece faces prospect of fresh elections Mr Samaras said he had "returned the mandate" to head of state, President Carolos Papoulias, who will today invite Alexis Tsipras, the charismatic 37-year-old head of Syriza, an acronym for the Radical Left Coalition, to form a coalition after it finished in a surprise second place. Two thirds of Greek voters backed Syriza and other anti-austerity parties, who between them could muster 151 seats. But the chances of them co-operating are regarded as near impossible. Syriza and the Communist Party of Greece have been at daggers drawn for years and both are highly unlikely to co-operate with the Independent Greeks, a new nationalist party that finished fourth with 10 per cent and 33 seats in the proportional representation system. If Mr Tsipras fails, Pasok, which was the only party that conditionally agreed to join efforts to pursue an austerity package for the next stage of the £90 billion bail-out agreed with the European Union and International Monetary Fund late last year, would have the chance to lead a government, but would almost certainly fail for the same reasons that defeated Mr Samaras. If no coalition emerges, Greece will hold another election, probably within six to eight weeks, a prospect which would alarm its international creditors and further trouble the markets. The main Greek stock index plunged almost seven per cent on Monday. The splintered vote has renewed fears that Athens may default on its debts and eventually leave the euro zone. Under the current bail-out plan, Greece must demonstrate by next month that it can find a further 11bn euros of cuts in spending before the end of 2014, otherwise the next tranche of its loan may be at risk. Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen, the spokesman for the European Commission, showed no sign that Brussels is willing to cut the Greeks more slack. She said that the European authorities "hope and expect that the future government of Greece will respect the engagement that Greece has entered into."