Greece PM Alexis Tsipras announces resignation, calls snap polls

In Berlin, the government said it expected Athens to press ahead with its reform agenda and the finance ministry said aid disbursements would be delayed should the elections cause any delay in an examination of the programme.

“This was not a surprise, following the repeated phone calls” between commission head Jean-Claude Juncker, Tsipras and Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, she added. “I want to submit to the Greek people everything I have done (since taking office in January) so that they can decide once more“, Tsipras said.

Funds from Greece’s new three-year, 86 billion euro ($95 billion) bailout are being disbursed in batches following reviews of the country’s progress on implementing reforms.

The new party will be the third largest in the 300-seat parliament, but with just 25 MPs has nearly no chance of forming a government.

Greece will go to the polls next month after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resigned on Thursday evening.

Far-left rebels in Greece’s Syriza party have broken away to form a new party with 25 MPs, a parliament deputy speaker announced on Friday.

The first is that dozens of Tsipras’ governing left-wing Syriza party lawmakers voted against the government on the bailout deal.

Because Mr Tsipras’ government has been in power for less than 12 months, opposition parties would be given three days to try and form a government – but if they fail, a general election will be called by the president.

Without the bailout, Greece faced defaulting on its debts and crashing out of Europe’s joint currency.

But the monthlong election period means little progress will be possible in carrying out Greece’s rescue program, since the caretaker government that will now replace Mr. Tsipras’s administration has no mandate other than to see Greece through to the vote.

“This is the essence of democracy, we do not have any problem to ask the people”.

The European Commission is “not concerned” that the decision to hold new elections in Greece could affect the country’s bailout or the implementation of the reforms associated with it, according to spokeswoman Annika Breidthardt.

“We assume that whatever the government, this new deal and its conditions will remain“. “Regardless of elections, the reforms can now be implemented”.

A poll conducted among 1,251 Germans by the Forschungsgruppe Wahlen institute for ZDF television between August 18 and 20 and released Friday showed that 62 per cent of Germans oppose the Greek bailout, compared with 49 per cent in July.