Greek Parliament failed for a second time on Tuesday to gather the 200 votes needed to elect a new President. This time there were 168 votes in favor of the presidential candidate Stavros Dimas, however the figure still falls short of the 200 required in the second round. The third and final vote is due on December 29, with conservative New Democracy ND Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras warning MPs of the political tempest that would ensure if 180 mandatory MP votes aren’t gathered for the third round, dissolving the Greek coalition government and pushing the country towards early national elections.

The increase in support for Mr. Dimas came after Mr. Samaras made an offer to set a date for early elections towards the end of next year and not wait out his term of office that ends on June 2016. He made this offer in exchange for support for Mr. Dimas. Socialist PASOK Deputy Prime Minster Evangelos Venizelos hinted that further compromises were to follow.

If Mr. Dimas fails to gather the required support then power could potentially be handed over to main opposition left-wing SYRIZA that wants to renegotiate Greece’s 24-billion-euro bailout program that has led the country on the course of austerity. Polls place the opposition ahead of the government, though this margin has narrowed to a 3-4 point lead over the past weeks.

In the case that Mr. Dimas is elected as Greek President on December 29, then the troika of Greece’s international creditors from the European Commission (EC), European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) will return to Greece on January 4 to continue the review of Greece’s economy.

The political leadership believes that the 12 crucial votes needed for Mr. Dimas’ victory can be gathered in the third round. Nonetheless, this is no easy task as MPs from the Democratic Left (DIMAR) and Independent Greeks ANEL would need to deviate from their official party line.