The lion's share of German exposure is held by the state-owned development bank KfW, with lending totaling 15 billion euros to the Greek state, the banking industry group BdB said.

Though the pattern of both major parties' policies is already established, the rhetoric in TV panels and on the streets is as polarizing as it gets.

Greek stocks ended sharply lower in the Athens Stock Exchange on Monday, hit by the scenarios of a possible Grexit presented in international media and a new rise in Greek state bond yields, with the three-year bond yield surpassing 13 pct.