Syriza Wins Greek Elections

Alexis Tsipras’s left-wing Syriza party emerged victorious Sunday night in Greece’s latest general election. Tsipras, who returned to his position as prime minister on Monday after resigning in August, has stated his intention to ally with the right-wing Independent Greeks to reach a majority in Parliament. Tsipras led Syriza for six years before becoming Prime Minister following Syriza’s victory in January 2015’s parliamentary elections. At that time, Tsipras ran on the promise of rejecting the austerity measures placed on Greece by its Eurozone creditors. In August, however, Greece’s deteriorating economic situation forced Tsipras to sign a bailout deal, prompting several members of his party to defect and costing Syriza its parliamentary majority. In the face of a disintegrating party, the prime minister resigned from his position on August 20 and called for elections to take place September 20.  

Despite Syriza’s struggles,Greeks voted to Tsipras’ government to power, albeit with little enthusiasm. Sunday’s elections were characterized by a general tone of fatigue and apathy. Euro News reported a record low turnout of 55 percent for the third election of the year. All but three of Greece’s political parties have come to accept the unpopular terms of the bailout, giving voters hoping for a stronger stance against Greece’s Eurozone creditors little choice in the matter. Greek nurse Dimitria Karadimou expressed the sentiment of many Greeks in asking “What’s the point of voting if what you get is the opposite of what you voted for?”