Greece backs Tsipras again
ATHENS - The radical leftist party that stormed to a historic victory in January and then governed Greece through a tumultuous seven months won a convincing new mandate in elections on Sunday, giving it another chance to lead a country still mired in economic ruin.
ATHENS - The radical leftist party that stormed to a historic victory in January and then governed Greece through a tumultuous seven months won a convincing new mandate in elections on Sunday, giving it another chance to lead a country still mired in economic ruin.
Despite convulsive developments in Greece this year, Syriza's margin of victory over its nearest rival was almost exactly the same as it was the last time the country voted. The results validated party leader Alexis Tsipras' decision to take his case to the voters for a third time this year. Syriza has comfortably won each vote.
Party supporters cheered and danced in the streets of downtown Athens on Sunday night after the results became clear and the party's main challenger, the center-right New Democracy party, conceded.
With more than 80 percent of the vote counted, Syriza stood at 35.5 percent of the vote and 145 seats in the 300-member parliament, followed New Democracy with 28.3 percent and 75 seats, and the Nazi-inspired Golden Dawn with 7 percent and 18 seats, the Associated Press reported.
In his victory speech, Tsipras vowed to serve as prime minister for the next four years and promised that Syriza's win would radiate far beyond Greece's borders.
"We have a mandate to keep fighting - in this country and outside it," Tsipras, 41, told a flag-waving crowd that was conspicuously smaller than after the January vote. "Beginning tomorrow, we start the fight to change Europe."
By securing first place out of a crowded field that spanned the ideological spectrum, Syriza avoided what would have been a stinging rejection by Greek voters and, with it, a likely halt to leftist momentum across Europe.
The result gives Syriza a fresh opportunity to steer Greece after an initial stint in power that was marked by erratic decision-making and the near-collapse of the nation's economy amid a bitter showdown with European creditors.
Tsipras, who became Greece's youngest prime minister in 150 years when first elected, opted to call a new vote after Syriza split over his July decision to back a controversial $97 billion bailout.
The deal, which came with harsh austerity measures, represented an embarrassing capitulation for a leader who had campaigned as an anti-austerity firebrand and who had only days earlier persuaded voters to reject a similar agreement in a nationwide referendum.
Since then, Tsipras' popularity has fallen markedly as voters have wondered whether all the brinkmanship was worth it.
Under those circumstances, Sunday's results were a genuine triumph for Tsipras, said Nick Malkoutzis, editor of the political analysis website Macropolis.
But it may be only temporary.
"He has many battles ahead," Malkoutzis said. "The first is to form a government. The second is to implement the tough elements of the bailout agreement. And the third is to hold his party together."
Despite the static results, Malkoutzis said, Tsipras must contend with an electorate that is clearly disenchanted.
Turnout was down significantly from the 64 percent recorded in January. Those who showed up to vote said they were not particularly enthusiastic, noting that all the major parties have already signed off on a bailout deal that will set the country's course for years to come with its pension cuts and tax hikes.
