TomandJerry
Well-known member
- Oct 1, 2013
- 11,437
News that Greece faces a snap election on 25 January has been met with international concern, with the radical left scenting victory.
Alexis Tsipras, leader of Syriza, has vowed "austerity will be history" if his left-wing party wins on 25 January.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned there was "no alternative" to Greece's reforms.
Greece's economy has begun to recover after six years of recession but many Greeks want an end to austerity.
On Monday, Greek MPs rejected the presidential candidate nominated by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, triggering the snap election.
Stavrov Dimas, a former European commissioner, secured the votes of only 168 MPs, the same number he had won during the second vote last week.
Setback
The defeat is regarded as a major setback for eurozone countries that helped bring Greece back from the brink in 2010.
Since then €240bn (£188bn; $290bn) has been spent helping Greece pay off its debts. In return for two major bailouts, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund demanded stringent austerity measures.
Alexis Tsipras, leader of the Syriza party, talks to reporters outside the parliament building in Athens - 29 December 2014Alexis Tsipras, leader of the left-wing Syriza party, said Monday was an "historic day for Greek democracy"
Mr Tsipras, whose party has a narrow but steady lead in opinion polls, said the rejection of Mr Dimas was a "historic day for Greek democracy".
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Samaras, whose centre-right New Democracy party dominates the current ruling coalition, said the public risked finding out "how easy it is to relapse into the deepest and most dramatic crisis" after the new election, the fourth in six years of financial crisis.
Investors fear Mr Tsipras' left-wing opposition party might act on popular resentment at six years of government austerity by seeking to overhaul the international bailout deal.
In response to the vote, the IMF said talks on completing a review of the bailout, which Greece would need if it were to leave the the EU-IMF programme, would take place only when a new government was in place.
Alexis Tsipras, leader of Syriza, has vowed "austerity will be history" if his left-wing party wins on 25 January.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned there was "no alternative" to Greece's reforms.
Greece's economy has begun to recover after six years of recession but many Greeks want an end to austerity.
On Monday, Greek MPs rejected the presidential candidate nominated by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, triggering the snap election.
Stavrov Dimas, a former European commissioner, secured the votes of only 168 MPs, the same number he had won during the second vote last week.
Setback
The defeat is regarded as a major setback for eurozone countries that helped bring Greece back from the brink in 2010.
Since then €240bn (£188bn; $290bn) has been spent helping Greece pay off its debts. In return for two major bailouts, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund demanded stringent austerity measures.
Alexis Tsipras, leader of the Syriza party, talks to reporters outside the parliament building in Athens - 29 December 2014Alexis Tsipras, leader of the left-wing Syriza party, said Monday was an "historic day for Greek democracy"
Mr Tsipras, whose party has a narrow but steady lead in opinion polls, said the rejection of Mr Dimas was a "historic day for Greek democracy".
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Samaras, whose centre-right New Democracy party dominates the current ruling coalition, said the public risked finding out "how easy it is to relapse into the deepest and most dramatic crisis" after the new election, the fourth in six years of financial crisis.
Investors fear Mr Tsipras' left-wing opposition party might act on popular resentment at six years of government austerity by seeking to overhaul the international bailout deal.
In response to the vote, the IMF said talks on completing a review of the bailout, which Greece would need if it were to leave the the EU-IMF programme, would take place only when a new government was in place.
