Greek Elections

Greece has been hit the hardest of any Western nation, Greece’s economy has hit rock bottom and is unlikely to recover any time soon. The ratings agency Fitch gives Greece’s credit rating as CCC, which means that default is highly likely. With the terrible financial collapse and the oppressive austerity being forced from the government, Greece’s governing party PASOK was expecting a walloping at the election.

Citizens first went to the polls in May 2012 to try and elect a new government. Unfortunately for the Greeks, nobody got a majority or could form a coalition. The primary issue for most Greeks was the bailout from the ‘troika’, without money from the troika Greece would be unable to pay its debts and it would default. But the money doesn’t come without a catch; in exchange for bailout money Greece must force harsh austerity on its citizens. Many Greeks are fed up with the austerity and would rather take default. Of the three main parties New Democracy (Conservative) and PASOK (Democratic Socialist) are pro-bailout and together they got 149 seats, two short of a majority. It is important to note PASOK’s share of the vote declined by over 30% whilst ND declined by 15%. Opposing the bailout was SYRIZA, which got 52 seats and almost 17% of the vote, very close to ND’s 19%.

This meant that another election had to be scheduled for June, which left Greece with no elected government for a whole month. Luckily for the Greeks they elected a government this time, the ND-PASOK coalition got 162 seats to SYRIZA’s 71.

One important point left unmentioned thus far is the rise of Golden Dawn, sounds like a nice party right? Wrong. It is a neo-Nazi party with horrible anti-immigrant, anti-women and anti-gay ideologies. The horrible party got 7% of the vote and 18 seats in the June election, Golden Dawn is not alone, far right parties have been gaining ground all over austerity weary Europe. In France the National Front leader, Marine LePen, received 18% of the vote in the first round of the Presidential Election. Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Finland have all experienced a rise in the far right.

The elections earlier last year do not actually solve anything; they just give Greece a stable government for the time being. Merkel and her European allies better watch how tough they’re making Greece’s austerity, or things could turn very, very foul.