Pending Greek election has parties struggling to form a government

ATHENS, Greece – Greece’s main opposition party launched efforts to form a new government Friday following Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ resignation, but made no progress in what appears a doomed task – which will pave the way for another potentially destabilizing election.

Tsipras resigned late Thursday and called an early election next month to deal with a rebellion in his party over the terms of Greece’s new bailout deal.

Although no date has been set, outgoing government spokeswoman Olga Gerovassili said Friday she expects Greeks will go to the polls on Sept. 20.

The opposition has few chances of uniting and forming a government, meaning that after more than five years of a worsening financial crisis, Greece is headed for its fifth national election in six years. Tsipras is widely tipped to win the vote, though if he fails to secure an outright majority he could have to seek a new coalition.

His decision to call a vote so early – just hours after Greece started tapping loans from its $95 billion rescue program – amounts to a bet that he can regain power with a new government that would not be hobbled by internal dissent.

The far-left Syriza Party rebels announced Friday they were splitting to form their own anti-austerity movement.

They want to scrap the bailout altogether, arguing that the budget savings and reforms Tsipras agreed to for the bailout are exactly what they had vowed to fight when they came to power with Syriza in January.

Some analysts are concerned that the election could delay reforms needed to get rescue loans, which are only disbursed after quarterly reviews.

“A September election would occur before the first program review in October and may well hamper and delay the technical work and political decisions necessary for its completion,” said the Fitch ratings agency.

So far, Greece’s European creditors seemed sanguine about the election, which had been widely expected.

“The step by Prime Minister Tsipras isn’t surprising” considering he has lost his majority in parliament, said Steffen Seibert, spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He noted that the bailout deal was signed with Greece, and not just the current government, meaning it should be implemented by whoever emerges victorious from the election.

On Friday, President Prokopis Pavlopoulos met conservative New Democracy Party head Evangelos Meimarakis and asked him to try to form a government. Meimarakis later met with the head of the small centrist Potami Party, Stavros Theodorakis.

“The way things are now … we believe it is impossible for this parliament to produce a government,” Theodorakis said after the meeting.