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Leaving the euro area means mass poverty of the people, loss of the value of property and taking us decades back. This is what the PASOK leader said after his meeting with the leader of SYRIZA Alexis Tsipras, who has been trying for the second day in a row to form a coalition government of left forces. Asked whether PASOK is ready to support a coalition government, which will freeze the reforms in order to find a new plan for emerging from the crisis, Venizelos said that Greece has no time to lose. "People want stability and to remain in the euro area," insisted the socialist, adding that his talks with Alexis Tsipras were conducted in a friendly atmosphere.

The main proposal of Evangelos Venizelos remains the formation of a government of national salvation involving SYRIZA, New Democracy, PASOK and the Democratic Left. It, however, cannot be applied in practice, because of the significant differences in the views on the management of the local economy. Alternatively, he did not exclude the possibility of PASOK supporting a government composed of the parties of Tsipras, Kouvelis and Kamenos only if they ensure that Greece will remain within the euro. Something that cannot be considered real if SYRIZA insists on its promise to cancel the contract for financial aid and impose a moratorium on the repayment of the external debt.

At the end of his address, Evangelos Venizelos said that he is waiting to receive the mandate for forming a government on Thursday. He stressed that he wants to continue trying to establish a government without convening new parliamentary elections in June. What trick the former finance minister is willing to pull out of his sleeve to form a government is not yet clear. Most probably, the chapter on the May 2012 elections in Greece will be closed with the announcement of June 2012 elections.

Alexis Tsipras’ fifteen minutes of fame as a possible prime minister of Greece were fading away at the end of a day that had been full of emotions. Earlier, the leader of the radical left had loudly announced that he would meet with the newly elected Socialist president of France François Hollande. He, in turn, quickly denied the intention of the Greek politician and said he does not intend to waste his time with the young left wing representative. This became clear after the publication of his laconic refusal. The protocol makes no provision for the French President to meet with leaders of various European parties and Tsipras ambitions cannot be fulfilled for the time being.