ATHENS, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras made a final televised bid on Saturday to muster the needed 180 votes in Greece's parliament to elect the country's next president in Monday's vote which will be the third and last crucial round of voting to avert early general elections in early 2015.
"People do not want snap elections. They want the election of a president by the current parliament. I did and I am doing anything possible to elect president and avert the early elections. Because this is in the national interest and also my duty," Samaras said during an interview with the national broadcaster NERIT.
The conservative Greek premier called on all members of the Greek 300-member strong parliament to support the coalition government's presidential candidate, former European Commissioner Stavros Dimas, to avoid an "irrational adventure" and the "fatal risks" where the "silly planning" of opposition parties he claimed could lead Greece.
Amidst renewed scenarios in recent weeks of a possible Greek exit from the euro zone in case political uncertainty drags on or in case a Left-wing government which rejects bailout deals with international lenders takes over, Samaras appealed to legislators to assume their responsibility on Monday.
Under the Greek Constitution, Dimas needs 180 votes in the final round to get elected. In the first and second ballots on December 17 and December 23 he garnered 160 and 168 votes respectively.
For political analysts in Athens it seems rather difficult for the two-party coalition which controls 155 seats in the parliament to win over more lawmakers in coming hours, since two small opposition centrist and Right-wing parties have gradually shifted towards the main opposition Radical Left SYRIZA party lately.
Should the parliament fails to elect new a head of state again on Monday, the parliament dissolves and the country heads to general elections in about a month's time - most likely on January 25 or February 1.
With a steady lead in opinion polls in recent months SYRIZA pushes for early national elections to "change economic course and reverse austerity measures" introduced since 2010 to stave off bankruptcy. The party pledges to hold "better negotiation" with European Union and International Monetary Fund creditors.
Samaras said on Saturday that SYRIZA is leading the country to a collision course with "all counterparts" and default, throwing away the painful sacrifices Greek people have made over the past few years to "keep the country standing" and return to growth in 2014.
The latest survey conducted by Kappa Research polling firm and released meanwhile on Saturday showed SYRIZA garnering 27.2 percent of votes against the 24.7 percent by Samaras' New Democracy party of.
The junior party in the coalition, Socialists of PASOK party, ranked third with 6.1 percent, while the centre-Left "Potami" (The River) party and the Greek Communist party KKE followed with 5.8 percent of votes.
The neo-fascist Golden Dawn (Chryssi Avgi) party would also enter the assembly with 5.5 percent of votes, if elections were held this weekend, according to the survey.
In his interview on NERIT Samaras expressed confidence that if Greece goes to polls soon, his party will win again, as it had happened in 2012 in a similar atmosphere.
The Greek leader stressed however that he would rather prefer that the next president of the country gets elected on Monday so that Greece comes closer to the exit from the debt crisis.
The debt-laden country's bailout program got a two-month extension to the end of February so that Athens can complete a new deal with lenders on the terms of their post-bailout relationship.
Samaras repeated on Saturday a proposal he made a week ago for national consensus so that the MPs elect a President on Monday in return for an immediate cabinet reshuffle which could include "more forces who support the country's European course" and the conduction of general elections by the end of 2015.
