17/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - President of the European Commission José Manuel Barosso congratulated Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis for his victory in Sunday's parliamentary elections. A Commission press release said that during a telephone conversation on Sunday evening, Barosso reiterated the Commission's “full solidarity” with the Greek people and their terrible suffering from the recent forest fires. Although the conservatives from Karamanlis's Nea Demokratia (ND) lost a few seats (152 instead of the 165 they previously held), they still have an absolute majority in the Greek parliament (300 seats in all). PASOK (Socialists), the second biggest political force in Greece, even lost around 15 seats compared to the elections in 2004. The LA.OS party got 3.8% of the votes and ten seats, and is the first far right political grouping to get into parliament since the return to democracy in the country in 1974. (hb)