After a snap election in Greece on Sunday, Alexi Tsipras leader of the left wing Syriza party has been sworn in as the country’s new Prime Minister.
Syriza – a hardline anti-bailout party have formed a new government in coalition with the Independent Greeks. Their coalition partners- the independent greeks- led by Panos Kammenos have been described as a right wing populist party.
Poles apart but both oppose Greece’s bailout loans.
Though the parties seem poles apart, their link is the opposing of Greece’s bailout loans and forced austerity measures introduced by the Troika.
The troika- the tripartite committee led by the European Commission, the European central bank and the IMF- has organised bailout loans to the governments of Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus.
Syriza’s plan.
Before the election, Syriza committed themselves to a national reconstruction known as the Thessaloniki Programme.
The estimated cost of the programme would approximate to €11 billion which would include a €2 billion provision of free electricity to those under the poverty line, and an employment programme which would aim to allocate up to 300,000 new jobs. Unemployment remains incredibly high at 25.5% and amongst young people, is said to be just below 50%.
Causing a stir for the Bundestag.
The coalition government also aims to renegotiate the bailout package from the EU-and IMF which bailed Greece out to the tune of €240 billion (£179 bn). The German Chancellor Angela Merkel who oversaw much of the financial package has yet to react to the election result.
However her finance minister has said there can be no restricting of Greece’s debts. Also, the head off the European Commission Jean-Claude Junker has reminded the new government of the need to “ensure fiscal responsibility”.
Greece’s new finance minister Yanis Varoufakis- an outspoken critic of the conditions imposed on his country- insists that Greece cannot restore its finances until its debt is lessened and has described the bailout as “fiscal water-boarding”.
The question remains will the victory of Syriza have a knock on effect elsewhere across Europe?
Credits: AFP/getty images
