Politicians in Greece are heading into a Christmas period of negotiations to try and avoid snap elections.
The Greek parliament failed again on Tuesday to elect a new president.
If it can't agree on a candidate by December 29th, the country will be forced to hold early elections at the beginning of 2015.
Polls suggest such a vote would be won by the left-wing Syriza party which wants to renegotiate the terms of Greece's huge bailout with the European Union and International Monetary Fund.
The FT's Athens correspondent Kerin Hope says the government still hopes to win agreement for its candidate - Stavros Dimas.
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The FT's Athens correspondent Kerin Hope says if the government can't win support for its candidate - it will have only one course of action left.
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The FT's Athens correspondent Kerin Hope says if the government can't win support for its candidate - there will undoubtedly be a period of instability.
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