Others argue that Greece’s prospects are clouded by political instability. Mr Samaras and his centre-right New Democracy (ND) party need a three-fifths majority in Greece’s 300-member parliament to elect a new president in February, or elections will be called. He is still 26 votes short. Moreover, some independents and even a handful of lawmakers from the PanHellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok), his party’s coalition partner, may decide to switch their allegiance to Syriza, the far-left opposition party. The latest opinion polls give Syriza a lead of between 4% and 8% over ND, and even government supporters are beginning to accept that Syriza will win the next election. The question that is hotly debated in Athens cafés is whether the opposition will secure an outright majority or be forced to form a coalition with other left-wing parties. Those could include Pasok or Potami, a new centre-left party founded by Stavros Theodorakis, a television journalist.