"We cannot make true our dream of a left-wing government"

Tsipiras has given up on trying to form a coalition to govern Greece. There was more than a bit of added pressure from eurocrats.

In Brussels, a EU official told AFP news agency that Greece would receive a $5.4bn loan as expected on Thursday, but a further $1.29bn would be held back until Monday.

Eurozone officials who met on Wednesday evening “decided to leave the decision on disbursement of [$1.29bn] to the Eurogroup on Monday”, said the source, referring to the eurozone finance ministers.

The political uncertainty pushed markets and the euro down, as fears resurfaced of Greece quitting the eurozone before the year is out.

…Speaking in Berlin on Wednesday, Angela Merkel, German chancellor, stressed that EU countries that have signed the bloc’s fiscal pact for greater budgetary discipline must stick to what they have agreed.

“Everyone must stick to the things we have agreed. Twenty-five countries have already … signed the fiscal pact,” she said in remarks seen as directed at both Greece and France, whose president-elect, Francois Hollande, has also said he wants to renegotiate the deal.

Now the mandate passes to the PASOK leader to have a try, and then on to a presidential call to form a unity government. It’s unlikely either of those attempts will work so we’re looking at new elections sometime soon after May 17. Tsipiras’ party has to be favorite to come out ahead in those now as he’s obviously expressing the will of the people best. Even the leaders of the outgoing coalition that signed off on the agreement with the IMF and the EU have started to suggest that the deal would have to be reopened.