The crucial third-round of Greek Presidential elections is due Monday and there is a 60 percent probability the ruling coalition will fail to collect the 180 votes required to elect the nation’s president, leading to general elections in January, said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank in London.
If the Hellenic nation goes to polls in January, it would mean a period of political instability, which is bad for the Greek economy and the global markets. Reports coming out in the last couple of weeks show foreign-tourist bookings for summer -holidays have dropped considerably.
Separate reports suggest merger and acquisition deals that inject money into the private Greek economy are on hold due to uncertainties as well. If the country goes to elections it will be a temporary setback for the Greek economy, which may balloon into a real crisis after general-election results are declared in late January or early February, he noted.
