Greece’s business community yesterday stressed the urgency of kickstarting the economy deadlocked by political uncertainty and voiced hopes for a stable government of national unity.

In a sign of investor relief, the Athens stock market rallied although other European markets were more cautious after the Sunday election handed victory to a conservative party seen as more likely to keep Greece in the eurozone.

Stocks in Athens had already shot up last week on rumours that New Democracy was inching ahead in the polls against the radical leftist party Syriza led by Alexis Tsipras, who spooked the markets with his talk of abolishing austerity.

Despite the victory, there was little sign of euphoria among observers. “It was mainly a vote of fear against the exit from the euro, not a real support of the reforms,” said Yiannis Loulis, a political analyst and blogger.

Mr Loulis warned that the new government would be “fragile” and that Greece’s “honeymoon” with international partners may be short-lived.

Mr Samaras is under pressure from voters to renegotiate a multi-billion bailout deal with the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund, the so-called troika, which have imposed austerity in exchange for vital loans.

One banking analyst said: “There are great expectations that the new government will be formed soon and that the troika will have a credible partners to lead negotiations.”

An editorial in business daily Naftemporiki said: “The era of easy solutions is over.”