Eurozone fears as Greeks go to polls
Source: Agencies |
June 18, 2012, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Greece went to the polls yesterday amid global fears of victory by parties that have vowed to cancel the country's international bailout agreements and accompanying austerity measures.
Such an outcome could undermine the European Union's joint currency and pitch the world's major economies into another sharp downturn.
Exit polls last night showed the two top contenders, the radical left Syriza party of Alexis Tsipras and the conservative New Democracy party of Antonis Samaras, to be neck-and-neck.
The New Democracy party is projected to win between 27.5 and 30.5 percent of the vote while Syriza may get 27 to 30 percent.
For Greeks, it is the second national election in six weeks and arguably the most critical in decades, reflecting political turmoil sparked by a two-year financial crisis some fear could force the country to abandon the euro and return to the drachma. That could drag down other financially troubled countries and threaten the euro itself.
With no party likely to win enough votes to form a government, a coalition will have to be formed to avoid yet another election.
Inconclusive elections on May 6 resulted in no party winning enough votes to form a government, and coalition talks collapsed after 10 days. The vote, which also sent the formerly governing socialist PASOK party plunging to historic lows, sent a very clear message that Greeks have lost patience with the deep austerity imposed in return for the country receiving billions of euros in rescue loans from other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund.
"I'd like to see something change for the country in general, including regarding the bailout," said Vassilis Stergiou, an early-morning voter at an Athens polling station. "But at least for us to get organized and at the very least do something."
Tsipras, a 37-year-old former student activist, has vowed to rip up Greece's bailout agreements and repeal the austerity measures, which have included deep spending cuts on everything from health care to education and infrastructure, as well as tax rises and reductions in salaries and pensions.
But his pledges, which include canceling planned privatizations, nationalizing banks and rolling back cuts to minimum wages and pensions, have horrified European leaders, as well as many Greeks. His opponents argue that the inexperienced young politician is out of touch with reality, and that his policies will force the country out of the euro and into poverty for years to come.
Tsipras's pledges and his party's strong showing in the May 6 elections, where he came a surprise second and quadrupled his support since the 2009 election, has put him in the international spotlight.
Scores of journalists and television news crews from across the world jostled for space to cover Tsipras casting his vote in Athens.
"Today we open a road to a better tomorrow, with our people united, dignified and proud," he told reporters. "In a Greece of social justice and prosperity, an equal member of a Europe that is changing. A Europe of the peoples and of solidarity."
He has accused his rivals of attempting to terrorize the population by casting him as the man who will ruin the country, and insists he will keep Greece within the euro - something that repeated opinion polls have shown most Greeks want.
Greece has been dependent on rescue loans since May 2010, after sky-high borrowing rates left it locked out of international markets following years of profligate spending and falsifying financial data.
"Today the Greek people speak. Tomorrow a new era for Greece begins," Samaras said after voting in a small town in southern Greece.
Such an outcome could undermine the European Union's joint currency and pitch the world's major economies into another sharp downturn.
Exit polls last night showed the two top contenders, the radical left Syriza party of Alexis Tsipras and the conservative New Democracy party of Antonis Samaras, to be neck-and-neck.
The New Democracy party is projected to win between 27.5 and 30.5 percent of the vote while Syriza may get 27 to 30 percent.
For Greeks, it is the second national election in six weeks and arguably the most critical in decades, reflecting political turmoil sparked by a two-year financial crisis some fear could force the country to abandon the euro and return to the drachma. That could drag down other financially troubled countries and threaten the euro itself.
With no party likely to win enough votes to form a government, a coalition will have to be formed to avoid yet another election.
Inconclusive elections on May 6 resulted in no party winning enough votes to form a government, and coalition talks collapsed after 10 days. The vote, which also sent the formerly governing socialist PASOK party plunging to historic lows, sent a very clear message that Greeks have lost patience with the deep austerity imposed in return for the country receiving billions of euros in rescue loans from other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund.
"I'd like to see something change for the country in general, including regarding the bailout," said Vassilis Stergiou, an early-morning voter at an Athens polling station. "But at least for us to get organized and at the very least do something."
Tsipras, a 37-year-old former student activist, has vowed to rip up Greece's bailout agreements and repeal the austerity measures, which have included deep spending cuts on everything from health care to education and infrastructure, as well as tax rises and reductions in salaries and pensions.
But his pledges, which include canceling planned privatizations, nationalizing banks and rolling back cuts to minimum wages and pensions, have horrified European leaders, as well as many Greeks. His opponents argue that the inexperienced young politician is out of touch with reality, and that his policies will force the country out of the euro and into poverty for years to come.
Tsipras's pledges and his party's strong showing in the May 6 elections, where he came a surprise second and quadrupled his support since the 2009 election, has put him in the international spotlight.
Scores of journalists and television news crews from across the world jostled for space to cover Tsipras casting his vote in Athens.
"Today we open a road to a better tomorrow, with our people united, dignified and proud," he told reporters. "In a Greece of social justice and prosperity, an equal member of a Europe that is changing. A Europe of the peoples and of solidarity."
He has accused his rivals of attempting to terrorize the population by casting him as the man who will ruin the country, and insists he will keep Greece within the euro - something that repeated opinion polls have shown most Greeks want.
Greece has been dependent on rescue loans since May 2010, after sky-high borrowing rates left it locked out of international markets following years of profligate spending and falsifying financial data.
"Today the Greek people speak. Tomorrow a new era for Greece begins," Samaras said after voting in a small town in southern Greece.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
