Syriza, Leftist Party Wins Greek Elections

[starshine]

Link to article: Greece elections: anti-austerity Syriza party sweeps to stunning victory | World news | The Guardian

It looks like Greece was tired of the austerity measures taken since the economy failed and they had to be bailed out. Honestly, I can understand them for wanting to elect a party who would have the best interest of the people at heart. I've heard many people muttering about how they had unrealistic platforms and how "extreme" the party was; though I have not really sensed what is so radical about them trying to make a positive change, if it isn't for the simple fact that they want to do it in a different way than the previous leaders did.

What are your thoughts on this election? Do you think things will start changing in Greece soon?

 

[crimsonghost747]

The radical part in here is that the Syriza party's main election promise was to renogotiate the debts that Greece owns to other European countries, their central banks and the ECB. And by "renogiate" I mean "forget that it ever existed." The problem here is what will they do if the EU countries refuse to forgive the hundreds of billions of euros worth of debt?

I see this as a risky but potentially a very good choice for Greece but as an European I simply can't see this ending in a good way for the rest of the continent.

 

[orangesunset]

From what understand, Greece owes money to the EU, and as the conditions of being part of the EU they are limited to a certain amount of debt. This also is linked with Greece using the Euro as currency.

If Greece fails to meet these requirements theoretically they should be thrown out of the EU. How this would happen is complicated because they all have one currency.

 

[JulianWilliams]

I agree this party wants what's best for the Greek people but I don't think the things they want to do will be good for their people. They seem to think they'll be able to both default on the debt and stay in the euro, which is pure fantasy if you ask me. They should pull out of the euro, devalue their currency and make themselves competitive again. Also they need to start properly collecting taxes.

 

[missbishi]

The Greek people seem to be delighted with the result, from what I've seen on the news. However, I hope they realise that change will be slow and gradual. It will take more than a few months for the situation to show any real signs of improvement. That's if things are going to improve at all. Certainly, though, the general mood in Greece appears to be positive and I hope they can remain in the EU.

 

[Gabriel]

This win was for a change, a stand to for the Greek people to have a say in how their country is run. It will take a while to negotiate the debt and should Greece decide to leave then that will be done later on. People are tired of how the EU is being run and them having no say in their lives. They may ask to reduce the debt and have some written off, but if you look at Third World debt, most countries know that will never be repaid and consider it written off, so it's not impossible to write off debt.

Citizens want a government to serve in their interests not the EU's and a party's political stance. It was also a matter of pride, being told how to run their country, so it empowers the country that there is hope again.

 

[JulianWilliams]

Link to article: Greece elections: anti-austerity Syriza party sweeps to stunning victory | World news | The Guardian

It looks like Greece was tired of the austerity measures taken since the economy failed and they had to be bailed out. Honestly, I can understand them for wanting to elect a party who would have the best interest of the people at heart. I've heard many people muttering about how they had unrealistic platforms and how "extreme" the party was; though I have not really sensed what is so radical about them trying to make a positive change, if it isn't for the simple fact that they want to do it in a different way than the previous leaders did.

What are your thoughts on this election? Do you think things will start changing in Greece soon?

I'm not going to deny they have the Greek people's best interest at heart, but what they're doing is completely blaming everyone but themselves for their problems and by defaulting on their debts they'll end up in a worse position. They should fix their internal issues first, like corruption, high taxes, tax evasion and a very stuffy bureaucracy that is strangling entrepreneurs.

 

[starshine]

I'm not going to deny they have the Greek people's best interest at heart, but what they're doing is completely blaming everyone but themselves for their problems and by defaulting on their debts they'll end up in a worse position. They should fix their internal issues first, like corruption, high taxes, tax evasion and a very stuffy bureaucracy that is strangling entrepreneurs.

Fix their internal issues first? These are exactly the same internal issues that mostly every country have, really. If no country has been able to fix it so far, how do you suggest Greece fixes it?

And it is not the fault of the normal people -- this long, they paid their insurances, and then they had other countries "bail out Greece", but all it did was bail out the banks and rich people and then the normal folks did not really get any buck for it and they now have to deal with austerity. I fail to see how it is selfish or ignorant of them to try to change the situation to their best interests -- after all, this is what countries should be doing.

 

[Redheart]

It's easy for politicians to deceive people with promises of change in order to get elected. It's the norm for most political parties and politicians. Vote for me, vote for change. But once they are in office, they drag their feet delivering on the election promises and eventually those promises are completely forgotten.

Ours is to wait and see. Will this party save Greece? Maybe but I highly doubt it.

 

[gmckee1985]

Greece is a trainwreck. The last thing they should have done is elect the more fiscally liberal party. They are a country that has too many peope living on the public dole and not enough people working. A common problem in socialist countries.