Much of this is aimed at weakening the hand of the main anti-austerity candidate, 37-year-old Alexis Tsipras.

BBC: Europe's dangerous days

Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the Syriza party, leads in polls ahead of the June 17 election.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Its leader, Alexis Tsipras, said on Friday he could not join any coalition that intended to implement the bailout deal.

BBC: Greece bailout crisis: President seeks unity government

Alexis Tsipras is the 38-year-old leader of the Synaspismos party, and rose to prominence as its candidate for the mayor of Athens in 2006.

BBC: Greece: Trying to understand Syriza

If Alexis Tsipras, the charismatic Syriza leader, pulls his party into first place, he would have to find coalition partners among the same parties.

ECONOMIST: The Greek election

Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the leftist Syriza party, which came in second, met with Samaras but said Monday he would not back a coalition.

CNN: Greek party official: Coalition talks to be held Tuesday

Mr. Samaras first met with Alexis Tsipras, the leader of leftist Syriza, which has become the new force in Greek politics after campaigning on a fierce antiausterity ticket.

WSJ: Greek Pro-Bailout Parties Seek Coalition

And even its supporters are doubtful that a coalition with Syriza, a left-wing party led by Alexis Tsipras, a 34-year-old who has never run for parliament, would work.

ECONOMIST: Greece's riots

Younger voters may prefer the Greens (who won a seat in the European election in June) or Syriza, a left-wing splinter group run by Alexis Tsipras, a fast-talking, 30-something biker.

ECONOMIST: Greek politics

But it is the rise of the left-wing Syriza grouping and its charismatic young leader, Alexis Tsipras , that has really got the markets and the European Union establishment rattled.

CNN: What if Greece can't manage payback?

Speaking in a nationally televised statement, Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras congratulated Mr. Samaras on his victory but indicated he wouldn't support a government that continues with Greece's tough program of austerity and structural overhauls, known here as the memorandum.

WSJ: Pro-Bailout Party Wins Greek Vote

Speaking at Omonoia Square downtown Athens, the leader of the leftist SYRIZA party Alexis Tsipras re-iterated his position that this election is a referendum on the EU-IMF Memorandum, and his pledge to declare it void, if he wins the election.

FORBES: What to Expect of the Greek Elections

The bad news is that the main beneficiary of public disillusionment is Alexis Tsipras, leader of the intransigent hard-left Syriza, who claims to "listen to the people" while rejecting the kind of unity government that more than 70% of Greeks said they wanted.

CNN: Opinion: Greeks prefer Europe to its own politicians

Syriza's leader Alexis Tsipras not only conceded early, but assured the press he would not try and form a coalition of his own: that is, he would not be waiting to tempt Pasok and the Democratic Left into a Syriza-led coalition if the main talks fail.

BBC: Greek result buys Europe time