The left-wing coalition Syriza has emerged as the clear winner of the elections in Greece but appears to have fallen short of an absolute majority. Party leader Alexis Tsipras has announced the end of the austerity policy in Greece, but indicated his readiness to negotiate with the country’s creditors. This is the end of austerity in Europe, some commentators write. Others predict that Tsipras will in fact excel at cutting costs.
Though the challenges they face are immense, Syriza have brought some much needed hope back to Greece – and even to the European Union.
Syriza press HQ during the election. Flickr/Marcos. Some rights reserved.
In his victory speech to jubilant crowds in central Athens on Sunday evening, Syriza’s leader Alexis Tsipras called for the sun of ‘justice, democracy and dignity’ to come back to Greece.
The results of yesterday’s Greek elections, which the radical left coalition, SYRIZA, won in an historic landslide, reminded me of a humble pharmacist named Dimitris Christoulas. What follows is an excerpt from an essay I wrote in his honor back in 2012.
I hope his spirit rests a little better today.
Greece’s Syriza party gained the key backing needed to form a government Monday, creating a surprise alliance with a small right-wing party that signals possible confrontation over the country’s bailout.
Reactions to Syriza’s rise to power were either muted, or ranged from delight to panic, as European leaders prepared a coordinated answer to the triumph of Alexis Tsipras.
The shocking ‘austerity’-imposed destruction of Greece’s once proud healthcare system is a key reason Greeks have turned to Syriza, finds London GP Louise Irvine in an eye witness account.
ATHENS, Greece — The anti-bailout Syriza party won a clear victory in austerity-weary Greece’s national election on Sunday, according to projections by state-run TV’s exit poll.
In the end though, this will all probably lead mainly to more fragmentation, which will make fundamental change even more unlikely.
Secretary of State John Kerry joined his European counterparts in condemning today’s attacks in Ukraine by Russian-backed separatists. Secretary Kerry said:
DONETSK, Ukraine — The relative quiet of December in eastern Ukraine has been erased by an explosion of deadly violence in past weeks, marking a serious escalation in the nine-month-long war between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists and dashing hopes for a peaceful resolution.
With ten months to go before the COP 21, Paris is doing all it can to provide the ideal conditions for a global agreement. Europe hopes to play a facilitating role in the international negotiations, which will focus on the needs and attainable contributions of individual countries. EurActiv France reports.
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