|
By George Georgiopoulos and Lefteris Karagiannopoulos Related Stories
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's leftwing Syriza appeared on course to trounce the ruling conservatives in Sunday's snap election and could win the absolute majority it wants to fight international creditors' insistence on painful austerity measures. Syriza was on course to win between 149-151 seats in the 300 seat parliament, with 36.5 percent of the vote, almost nine points ahead of the conservative New Democracy party of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, according to interior ministry projections, based on a partial count of the vote. While a final result may not come for hours, 40-year-old Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras was set to become prime minister of the first euro zone government openly opposed to bailout conditions imposed by European Union and International Monetary Fund during the economic crisis.
His expected victory raises the prospect of an immediate standoff with German Chancellor Angela Merkel's government and could raise questions over distribution of the next tranche of more than 7 billion euros in outstanding international aid Greece needs in the next few months. Tsipras' campaign slogan "Hope is coming!" resonated with voters, weary of austerity after six years of constant crisis that has sent unemployment over 25 percent and threatened millions with poverty. View gallery
Opposition leader and head of radical leftist Syriza party Alexis Tsipras casts his ballot at a poll …
"The vote is a 'No' to unilateral austerity, a 'No' to a Europe that they tried to turn into Merkel's punching bag," Syriza senior official Dimitris Papadimoulis said on Greece's Mega television.
With flag-waving supporters hitting the streets of Athens, some shedding tears of joy, Germany's Bundesbank warned Greece it needed to reform to tackle its economic problems and the euro fell nearly half a U.S. cent.
A Syriza spokesman said Samaras had called Tsipras to congratulate him on winning the vote.
A total of seven parties are set to enter parliament, including the far-right Golden Dawn, but the final result will depend heavily on votes still to be counted in Athens, which accounts for slightly under half of Greece's 11 million population.
Tsipras has promised to keep Greece in the euro and has toned down some of the fiery rhetoric for which he was known but his arrival in power would herald the biggest challenge to the approach so far adopted to the crisis by euro zone governments.
View gallery
A woman with a child casts her ballot at a polling station in an elementary school during Greece' …
Financial markets have been worried a Syriza victory will trigger a new financial crisis in Greece, but the repercussions for the euro zone are expected to be far smaller than feared the last time Greeks went to the polls in 2012.
If Syriza ends up short of an absolute majority, Tsipras will have to try to form a coalition with smaller parties or reach an agreement that would allow Syriza to form a minority government with ad-hoc support from others in parliament.
Michalis Kariotoglou, an official from the pollsters that processed the results for the interior ministry, said the election had produced a "thriller".
A number of parties could fit as potential partners, including the centrist To Potami or the anti-bailout Independent Greeks. However if it requires support to govern, it may find itself hostage to its partners' demands, raising questions over how durable a Syriza government would prove.
STANDOFF WITH BERLIN
View gallery
A woman exits a voting booth to cast her ballot at a polling station in an elementary school during …
Coming after the European Central Bank's move to pump billions into the bloc's flagging economy, Sunday's result will stir consternation in Berlin, which insists the bailout deal must be respected.
Asked about the reminder of the need for reform from Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann, Syriza spokesman Panos Skourletis told Greek television: "It confirms the negotiations have already started."
Tsipras has promised to renegotiate a deal with the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund "troika" and write off much of Greece's 320 billion-euro debt, which at more than 175 percent of gross domestic product, is the world's second highest after Japan. At the same time, he wants to roll back many of the harsh austerity measures demanded by the "troika", raising the minimum wage, lowering power prices for poor families, cutting property taxes and reverse pension and public sector pay cuts. U.S. investment bank J.P. Morgan said the result could weigh on markets but that it considered speculation over a possible Greek exit from the euro was "a stretch" and a negotiated deal appeared the most likely outcome.
View gallery
A man prepares to cast his vote for the Greek parliamentary elections in Athens, January 25, 2015. R …
It added: "our base case remains that a Syriza government or Syriza-dominated coalition would alter its platform to retain troika financing."
Syriza officials have said they would seek a six-month "truce" putting the bailout programme due to end on Feb. 28 on hold while talks with creditors begin.
Greece, unable to tap the markets because of sky-high borrowing costs, has enough cash to meet its immediate funding needs for the next couple of months but it faces around 10 billion euros of debt repayments over the summer.
Without fresh cash, it will be unable to meet the payments, raising the spectre of an exit from the euro. (Additional reporting by Renee Maltezou, George Georgiopoulos, Lefteris Papadimas, Costas Pitas and Lefteris Karagiannopoulos; Editing by Philippa Fletcher
（法新社雅典25日电） 希腊今天举行至关重要的国会选举，大选结果可能促使激进左派联盟（Syriza）上台，对欧洲联盟处境维艰国家推行的撙节政策，形成最强有力的挑战。
欧洲其他国家密切注意这场选举，因为民调领先的激进左派联盟，提议重新谈判希腊2400亿欧元（2690亿美元）纾困案。
激进左派联盟领袖齐普拉斯（Alexis Tsipras）今天投完票后说，欧洲必须在撙节之外另寻出路。他表示，希腊人民在激进左派联盟领导下，可重新获得「尊严」。
为取得大规模纾困，希腊2010年被迫接受欧洲联盟和国际货币基金（IMF）的交换条件，大幅削减公共部门支出及减薪。
激进左派联盟领导的政府可能撤销这些措施，引发外界普遍担忧希腊可能债务违约，并退出欧元区，尽管激进左派联盟宣称，他们的目标不是离开欧元区。
选民承认选激进左派联盟代表跃向未知，但是许多人宁愿相信值得冒这个险。
在雅典郊区投票的20岁学生艾莉（Elli）说，她要投给激进左派联盟，但承认有疑虑。
她对法新社说：「我一直到今天上午还未决定，因为我害怕激进左派联盟胜选可能导致倒债。」
50岁自雇男子帕帕寇斯塔斯（Yannis Papacostas）说，他希望希腊人民在经历6年经济困顿后能够「觉醒」。
他表示：「最糟的情况是各政党不合作。」他打算投给亲欧盟新政党「河流」（To Potami），这个政党可能与激进左派联盟共组联合政府。
希腊经历1974年军事执政团倒台以来最严重的危机后，经济萎缩约25%，数以千计企业关门，薪资和退休金被大幅削减，年轻人失业率超过50%。
afp_tickers
| 
发表于 2015-1-26 05:28:29
分享
收藏
