Greece's victorious conservative leader has sought a new coalition government after elections, pledging to soften the debt-laden country's punishing austerity programe despite opposition from Germany.

A brief relief rally on international financial markets after Sunday's Greek vote quickly fizzled out as it became clear that Antonis Samaras's New Democracy had failed to win a convincing popular mandate to implement the deep spending cuts and tax increases demanded by the European Union and the IMF.

Al Jazeera's Barnaby Phillips reports from Athens.