http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/30/world/europe/greece-early-elections.html 2014-12-29 12:13:54 Greece Heading to Early Elections After Presidential Vote Fails The coalition candidate, Stavros Dimas, a former member of the European Commission, fell short of the 180 votes needed, meaning that Parliament must be dissolved within 10 days. === ATHENS — The coalition’s candidate, Stavros Dimas, a former member of the European Commission, garnered 168 votes in the 300-seat house, 12 short of the minimum threshold of 180 votes, with 132 voting against. Consequently, as the Constitution dictates, Parliament must be dissolved within 10 days to allow for early elections within a month. A date for that vote was not immediately set. The new political upheaval in Greece has not set off the sense of panic felt across the eurozone in 2012, when it seemed possible that the country could abandon the common currency and shake the bloc. But the prospect of the new vote has unsettled the country’s creditors and international markets, because the leftist party Syriza, which has pledged to renegotiate the country’s international bailouts and to seek a write-down of Greece’s huge debt, is expected to win.