Yes, the Conservative New Democracy Party finished first in the Greek elections Sunday, but it was not a democratic endorsement of the current austerity regime wrecking Europe. Looking at the polls, anti-austerity parties actually nabbed 52% of the vote in Sunday’s elections – and the far-left SYRIZA Party has doubled its share of the vote since May, garnering enough enthusiastic support that it can continue to push the new Greek coalition government – whatever it might look like –away from austerity and toward pro-growth policies.
As SYRIZA Party leader Alexis Tsipras said a speech on Monday, “Some believe that they won the elections. But, the people have won the elections because now they cannot proceed with bailout agreements and they recognize this, both in Greece and in Brussels.” Already – leaders within the New Democracy Party are calling for a renegotiation of the austerity and bailout terms with the EU and IMF – despite warnings from Germany that Greece must stick to its commitments. In particular, New Democracy officials are asking to spread the length of time over which Greece is supposed to 11.7 billion euros from two years to four years.
A senior EU official speaking with Reuters admitted the terms of the deal are “changeable.” Austerity is losing its momentum in Europe – so how much longer until Mitt Romney and his Republican buddies get the message here?
