Venizelos quits to start election campaign Evangelos Venizelos resigned as Greek finance minister on Monday, signalling the start of campaigning for a general election to be held on April 29 or May 6, after parliament approves further structural reforms required in return for a second bailout worth €174bn. Mr Venizelos left the coalition government one day after he was elected unopposed as the PanHellenic Socialist Movement's leader in a ballot of party members and supporters, intended to revive grassroots participation ahead of next month's national vote. More than 200,000 people cast ballots for the finance minister, according to Pasok officials. He succeeded former prime minister George Papandreou, who handed power last November to a coalition government under Lucas Papademos, a former European Central Bank vice-president, amid fears that Greece was headed for a disorderly default. Tassos Giannitsis, a senior economist serving as interior minister, was expected to replace Mr Venizelos, a Greek official said. Mr Venizelos said the ballot showed Pasok was "ready for a fresh start," and apologised to voters over rising unemployment, wage and pension cuts and falling economic output during his eight months as finance minister. "I know how much unhappiness, bitterness and pressure Greek families are feeling at this time," he said. Turnout for the ballot was much larger than expected, given Pasok's poor showing in recent opinion polls, although political opponents of Mr Venizelos claimed on Monday that party officials turned a blind eye to serial voting in larger towns and cities. Mr Venizelos's personal approval rating has scarcely been affected by months of fraught negotiations with international lenders on a new austerity package and a €200bn debt restructuring, or by having to implement harsh new taxes. "He got across the message that he was fighting hard for Greece in Brussels and Berlin, no matter what the outcome," said a senior socialist. Mr Venizelos faces a hard challenge to rebuild Pasok, seen as holding the main responsibility for Greece's decision to seek an international bailout in 2010, despite years of over-borrowing by the previous conservative government. The conservative New Democracy party holds a strong lead in opinion polls although it would be unable to win a parliamentary majority, and may lose support to rightwing parties in the election. Antonis Samaras, the conservative leader, tells supporters he is seeking an outright victory - thanks to the extra 50 parliamentary seats the front-running party would receive under the Greek electoral system. But in the event of a hung parliament, he would try to revive the current coalition with Pasok, with himself as premier, a conservative analyst said. If that proved unacceptable to Pasok, Mr Papademos may be invited to stay on at the head of a coalition, the analyst said. Both parties are committed to implementing the conditions set for the latest bailout package, even if it means imposing further spending cuts after the election.