Greek election leaves Eurozone in crisis: Far Left sweeps to victory with vow to end austerity years as EU braces for ‘catastrophe’
Syriza soars ahead of ruling New Democracy with predicted 149 seats – just short of 151 it needs to rule outright
PM Antonis Samaras conceded defeat after warning of ‘catastrophe’, adding: ‘The Greek people have spoken’
Syriza’s leader, aged just 40, promised to ‘restore the country’s lost dignity’ and ‘clash with old establishments’
Euro fell in trading on Australasian markets after result, which put ultra right wing Golden Dawn in third place
By DAN BLOOM and SARA MALM
DailyMailUK
25 January 2015
An anti-austerity party has won a landmark election victory in Greece which critics fear could force the Eurozone into a fresh crisis.
Official results from 94 per cent of polling stations gave radical leftist party Syriza 36 per cent of the vote – compared to just 28 per cent for the ruling conservatives of the New Democracy party.
That would give the party 149 seats in parliament, just short of the 151 it needs to rule outright – a situation Greece’s current Prime Minister claimed would bring Greece to the ‘brink of catastrophe’, and which David Cameron said will ‘increase economic uncertainty across Europe’.
The Euro fell immediately in early trading in Australasia, losing nearly half a U.S. cent to around $1.1170. Last week it hit $1.1115, its lowest since September 2003.
As outgoing premier Antonis Samaras phoned Syriza’s leader to concede defeat tonight, jubilant supporters waved flags on the streets of Athens.
‘The Greek people have spoken’, said Mr Samaras in a televised statement. ‘Everyone respects their decision. My conscience is clear.’
To the booming sounds of Rock the Casbah by The Clash, Syriza’s leader Alexis Tsipras told a rally of thousands of supporters he would defeat ‘austerity which destroys our common European future’.
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