PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos was to make a final attempt Friday at breaking Greece's post-electoral deadlock and forming a unity government by holding talks with the conservative New Democracy and the Coalition of Radical Left party, or SYRIZA, dpa reported. Venizelos, a socialist, received the presidential mandate after the first- and second-placed parties in Sunday's election, New Democracy and SYRIZA, failed to create a coalition government earlier this week. On Thursday, Democratic Left leader Fotis Kouvelis had agreed to participate in a wide coalition, with a mandate to keep the country in the euro while slowly distancing it from international bailouts. If Venizelos fails to reach a mandate, President Karolos Papoulias will convene party leaders in a last-ditch effort to reach a deal, otherwise new elections will be held in a month. PASOK was pushed to third place in the May 6 vote after voters punished mainstream parties for their handling of the financial crisis, with the country suffering a fifth year of recession and record unemployment. No clear winner emerged from Sunday's polls.
