New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras threw in his hand like he got dealt a 2-5 off-suited.
His New Democracy emerged as the biggest party after Sunday's vote, but he said a coalition was "impossible".
Far-left group Syriza, which is opposed to austerity measures, will now try to form an anti-bailout coalition.
That's going to be an interesting package, for it would have to include one of two renegade parties of the right, Independent Greeks or the nativist Golden Dawn; most likely the former, since the left generally don't even want to be in the same room with the Naziesque folks, let alone the same coalition.
The right, broadly defined, has 162 seats of 300, so that side needs at least one representative in any coalition.
We're likely to see a new election. It won't be pretty, but I could see Syriza getting a plurality in a second or third election and be able to put a rejectionist left coalition together. That would put the Euro into free fall, especially if a Socialist government in France wants to give Brussels the heave-ho as well.
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