Breaking: Greece Exit Poll Projects Radical Left Anti-Bailout Syriza Party Winning Election

[Hissyspit]

Source: Associated Press

@AP: BREAKING: Exit poll projects radical left anti-bailout Syriza party winning election by wide margin in Greece: http://t.co/fwRNg7tGZa/s/P_i8

Greece exit poll shows anti-bailout party winning election

BY ELENA BECATOROS
JAN. 25, 2015 12:08 PM EST

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A Greek state TV exit poll is projecting that anti-bailout party Syriza has won Sunday's parliamentary elections — in a historic first for a radical left wing party in Greece.

But it's unclear whether Syriza has won a decisive enough victory over Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' incumbent conservatives to govern alone. For that, they need a minimum 151 of parliament's 300 seats.

The centrist Potami (River) party is battling for third place with the Nazi-inspired, extreme right-wing Golden Dawn, whose leadership is in prison pending trial for running a criminal organization.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/9b1816988138404e924c96a12f14bc6f/greeks-go-polls-critical-snap-general-election

[lunasun]

1. Gold Dawn what happened ? People don't have enough $ to buy your hate !

Thanks for the latest

[Duckhunter935]

3. far right is not very popular

lost big in the Ukrainian elections also, a good thing

[Duckhunter935]

2. Wish them the best nt

[louis-t]

4. Note how they are called the 'radical left wing party'?

Because the radical right wing party in control (oh, I'm sorry, the "incumbent conservatives&quot fucked up the country and then tried to make the people whose fault it wasn't pay.

[pa28]

8. I guess you are "radical" when you don't like unelected bankers running your country for you. n/t

[lunasun]

11. +1

[merrily]

29. The left is always "radical left," "far left," "exteme left," or some combination.

The last thing the right wants is for the left to be seen as simply "not the right."

And yes, sigh, they "resort" to the left only after the right has fucked things up beyond all repair.

[stevenleser]

30. They have had alliances with Golden Dawn. Not sure this is a good thing. nt

[MFrohike]

39. Links?

Never heard of such a thing, so I'd be interested to learn.

[stevenleser]

43. Here are a few, they are working with right wing Golden Dawn and Independent Greeks

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/greece-has-a-new-government-as-syriza-forms-coalition-with-rightwing-independent-greeks-10002368.html

The coalition between Greece’s left-wing election victors Syriza and the right-wing Independent Greeks has been described as the "worst possible outcome" for the country's troubled economy.

It took less than an hour of talks this morning for an alliance to be struck, with the groups bridging their numerous differences in a shared opposition to austerity measures enforced by the EU.

Economics analyst Wolf Piccoli, from Teneo Intelligence, told Bloomberg that although Syriza may enjoy a short "honeymoon", it is badly paired with its new coalition partner and the inevitable clash of extreme left and right-wing ideas could cause instability.

"It is the worst possible outcome, let’s be very clear about that," he said. "The Independent Greeks are a conspiracy-prone nationalist party…it’s a bad mix, let’s put it that way. Also there’s not much experience in government on both sides.

http://greece.greekreporter.com/2014/12/31/greek-pm-accuses-syriza-of-ignorance-and-arrogance/

He said that the country was dragged to elections by a minority comprising MPs from SYRIZA and Golden Dawn, adding that “this alliance of irresponsible and extremists has canceled out any potential for consensus. How can you reach a consensus when you are being blackmailed by a minority in parliament; can you consent to instability and destabilization in the country when Greece appears to be able to stand on its own feet again. How can you reach a consensus on division and the country’s isolation?”

“We have the right to three things, the country’s European course which they undermine, the economic growth that has just started and they want to cancel out and the democratic normalcy they boycott anyway they can,” the prime minister underlined.

Referring to the presidential election, he said that despite the slander and blackmail most of the independent MPs voted for Stavros Dimas but there were a few that gave in to blackmail, adding that “even SYRIZA’s Manolis Glezos did not tolerate the odd alliance between SYRIZA, ANEL and Golden Dawn, realizing what the country’s dysfunction is.

-----------------------------------

My Greek friends are telling me that Syriza is very nationalistic and ethnocentric. So they work well with the far right in those kinds of policies. I would have preferred another far left party to have won. Austerity has to go, but the rise of nationalism and ethnocentrism is not something we should be celebrating.

[MFrohike]

46. Hrm

I saw the first article yesterday after I asked you. All it seems to indicate is a temporary alliance to force an election, not to push policy. That doesn't really concern me at all. Well, I should say it seems like there was an alliance. It's possible they acted together without coordinating it. Either way, it seems like very little.

The Independent Greeks thing bothered me when I heard it. Sure, they're anti-austerity, as well as anti-Euro, but their leader is quite anti-semitic and they're borderline racist at best. I'm not sure why they didn't pick another partner. I can understand why they didn't go to the left. From what I've read, the Communists seem to have a policy of no friends to the left and the other left party, the name escapes me right now, won't consider leaving the Euro. It's not that they have to leave the Euro, or even should, but it'll be real hard to negotiate with Merkel and co. without a club like that in your hand. The possibility of the Grexit is probably the best leverage they could possibly have. I just have to wonder if there was nobody else besides the pack of assholes they picked.

From all accounts, they're quite anti-racist and have been very active in opposing the anti-immigrant sentiments of both the far right AND the outgoing government. As for nationalism, again, it doesn't seem that way from what I've read. The head of Podemos, the new Spanish anti-austerity party, campaigned with Tsipras during the fall. Perhaps it's just a case of odd bedfellows, but I've not heard of Tsipras, or any of the rest, being any kind of nationalistic chauvinists. I'm not saying it's not possible, I'm saying that they've done an amazing job of hiding it if it's the case.

[MFrohike]

38. To be fair

Syriza is an acronym for Coalition of the Radical Left. This is one of those moments where lazy reporters get lucky by using a trope that happens to fit the facts.

[bemildred]

5. Exit polls suggest that that Syriza is likely to get between 146 - 155 in the 300-seat parliament

http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2015/jan/25/greek-election-syriza-confident-of-victory-live-updates

[safeinOhio]

6. Getting ready for the bankers

to scream it's the end of the world. I hope it is for them.

[jakeXT]

9. And they are against Russia sanctions... I bet some want the old times of military dictatorship back

Greek left-wing coalition Syriza believes that anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the EU are damaging peace and stability throughout Europe.

http://sputniknews.com/politics/20150119/1017083814.html

Before the elections that were scheduled for 28 May 1967, with expectations of a wide Center Union victory, a number of conservative National Radical Union politicians feared that the policies of left-wing Centrists, including Andreas Papandreou (the son of Georgios Papandreou, Sr.), would lead to a constitutional crisis. One such politician, George Rallis, proposed that, in case of such an "anomaly", king Constantine II of Greece should declare martial law as the monarchist constitution permitted him. According to Rallis, the king was receptive to the idea.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1967_Greek_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat

[Ykcutnek]

7. Their anti-austerity platform should be championed by every left-wing party in the West. nt

[Hissyspit]

19. You would think.

[wolfie001]

10. Seven years of misery with no end in sight.

A change was sorely needed!

[KansDem]

12. Excellent! If the bankers want/need more money...

...they can get a second job.

[Stephen Retired]

13. Rec before lock

I don't see anything wrong with this post, but that seems to be the fate of half the damn threads on this page!

[FLPanhandle]

14. As long as Greece is on the Euro, there isn't much they can do to stop austerity

They gave up control of their monetary policies when they joined the EU.

They have to borrow money to cover their deficit spending, and no one will loan them more without some confidence the Greeks will balance their budget enough to pay back the loans.

Defaulting is would also lead to severe austerity.

Giving up the Euro would also lead to some pretty heavy short term problems (although it might be best in the long term).

Basically, no matter who gets elected, Greece is going to have to make serious cuts in spending.

[Jack Rabbit]

16. Austerity is to be resisted by common people everywhere

Good for the Greeks. Overthrow the oligarchs and put the banksters in jail.

[blkmusclmachine]

32. Or, they could just keep "looking forward." How much you want to bet that nothing really changes???

Yes we can!
(But, no we won't!)

[Jack Rabbit]

34. "Looking forward" is right wing code for "not looking"

Let's see what happens. It's a sure bet the banksters and their pals in the EU are going to try to undermine the new government.

[Ramses]

41. wish we could do the same in this hellhole of a country

Austerity in America is pushed by both parties unfortunately. Fuck the bankers everywhere. Throw their criminal greedy asses in prison where they belong

[Jack Rabbit]

42. Why can't we?

We do not accept it. We will fight it. If the TPP passes,do not obey. Vote only for candidates for public office who will refuse to pay any fine levied by any court where the judges are corporate shysters given power by the TPP. Ignore all provisions of the TPP and violate them whenever possible. To anyone who has a problem with that, let me ask: What part of civil disobedience do you not understand?

We know that our politicians are bought. In a real democracy, where all elected legislators represent the people and work only for the good of the people, no congressman would even consent to discuss a trade agreement that was negotiated in secret when every attempt has been made and continues to be made to keep it secret. As long as there is no transparency, there should be no vote on it.

[iandhr]

17. Doesn't seem right that support from 35 percent

Can get you an outright majority. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of proportional representation?

[jakeXT]

21. I think they need 39-40%, and it was higher in the past but I'm not sure

Electoral system

The electoral system used is referred to as "reinforced proportionality", a form of semi-proportional representation with a majority bonus: The party that wins a plurality of votes cast is awarded an extra 50 seats. Small parties on the other hand need to reach an electoral threshold of 3% in order to be represented in parliament. These provisions help the party or coalition that wins a plurality to achieve an absolute majority (151 out of 300 parliamentary seats); this is intended to enhance governmental stability.

The current electoral law was used for the first time in the May 2012 election. It reserves 50 parliamentary seats for the party or coalition of parties that is supported by a plurality of votes cast. If the largest party or coalition has won at least 40.4% of the vote, these extra reserved seats will be sufficient to ensure it a majority in parliament. The remaining 250 seats are divided proportionally according to each party's total valid vote percentage; this is slightly higher than the raw percentage reported, as there is always a small number of invalidated or "blank" votes (usually less than 1%), as well as the percentage of smaller parties that fail to surpass the 3% threshold, all of which are disregarded for the purpose of seat allotment. The previous law (used in the 2009 legislative elections) was less favorable for the plurality party, as only 40 additional seats were reserved for them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_Greece

[PSPS]

20. LOL. I see the AP's style book has been properly updated: "Radical Left Anti-Bailout" (now changed)

They changed the headline as I write this and it now reads: "Exit poll: Greece's anti-bailout Syriza party wins election."

They omitted "radical left." AP and other corporate/state style books reliably use the term as a pejorative for anyone or anything not officially approved by the oligarchs.

[valerief]

22. Remember way back when Gore polled above Bush? And Kerry polled above Bush?

Ah, exit polls. Remember the 20th century when they predicted winners? Today votes don't win elections. Vote counters and their owners win them.

[sendero]

37. There is a difference..

.. between a 2-3% discrepancy and 10%. You can only cheat so much before it becomes obvious.

[valerief]

45. So what if it's obvious? What's gonna happen? Nothing! Not in this corrupt country. nt

[muriel_volestrangler]

23. Official projection: 36.5% of vote, 149-151 seats (right at the point of governing without partners)

19:40

First official projection gives anti-austerity party Syriza victory in Greece, with 36.5% of the vote and 149-151 seats in the 300-member parliament.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-europe-30975663

[Jefferson23]

24. Highly recommend. K&R

[brooklynite]

25. Can someone explain how Syriza is going to pay for a non-austerity policy?

No governing Party in Greece, right or left, has been able to compel tax compliance at any economic level.

[bemildred]

27. I'd see if I could extort more money from the banks first.

Greece seems to definitely be in the phase of debt accumulation where you own the banks instead of them owning you, because those banks are never getting that money back from Greece, and they can't pretend unless Greece goes along and pretends too.

[PoliticAverse]

31. Indeed, pretending is important for balance sheets and profit statements. n/t

[stevenleser]

44. They say they intend to renegotiate loans at a more favorable level and if that fails...

... they haven't said it outright, but I believe they will leave the Euro.

Your point is a good one however and it needs to be discussed. I had a knockdown dragout economic argument with another DUer about Ukraine even though we were both anti-Austerity. The fact is that anti-austerity economics have to be funded SOMEHOW and governments have only three main means of taking in money, borrowing it, printing it or taxing it. That DUer seemed to be of the opinion that an anti-austerity budget would appear out of thin air in Ukraine.

[RandySF]

26. Weren't thay talking about leaving the Euro?

[FLPanhandle]

28. It's really their only option

And that will require some painful austeity measures in the meantime.

They might as well "bite the bullet" though and leave the EU. They were never a good fit economically, but it'll get much worse before it gets better.

[reorg]

33. Interview with future finance minister

‘We Are Going to Destroy the Greek Oligarchy System’

Yanis Varoufakis is tipped to become finance minister of what may become Greece’s leading party after legislative elections Sunday. He tells Britain’s Channel 4 what Syriza will do if it takes power.

Channel 4 economics editor Paul Mason asks Varoufakis, who teaches economics at the University of Athens, “what will you do to [Greece’s] oligarchy, concretely?”

Varoufakis responds, “We are going to destroy the basis upon which they have built, for decade after decade, a system, a network that viciously sucks of the energy and economic power from everybody else in society.”

Video

'The chances of Greece being forced out of the Euro, for you?' -- 'Zero'.

Far from being destructive, Syriza's political proposals offer a reasonable way out of austerity and a chance to replace existing bailout laws with new ones, argues political economist Yanis Varoufakis.

"The first priority is renegotiating with creditors. Syriza needs to speak the language of truth about the continuing triple bankruptcy of the country - public debt, banks, private sector - something no Greek government has done so far. Then they need to table positions that the average German will find reasonable."

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30481307

[muriel_volestrangler]

35. Latest official projection: 149 seats, with 67.75% reporting

http://ekloges.ypes.gr/current/v/public/index.html?lang=en#{%22cls%22:%22level%22,%22params%22:{%22level%22:%22epik%22,%22id%22:1}}

(don't know if that URL will work on DU; it's the Ministry of Interior projections, updating as more results coming in)

[rdking647]

36. greece is fucked no matter what they do

no matter what they have austerity coming.

i think if they default on their debt they will be in for a shorter but deeper world of hurt.

what they may want to try is this
1. return to the drachma. this will lead to a SEVERE economic collapse at least for the short term. they would have to run a balanced budget for a few years until the world forgives then and is willing to loan them money again. (look at countries like argentina that are serial defaulters)
2. at the same time (and this would have to be a surprise) they should seize the bank accounts of anyone in greece with more than x in them . use that money to help fund teh government until they regain their footing. they could seize the accounts and turn them into iou's payable at some later date

[Ramses]

40. Excellent.

If only the last sentence could happen here in this country with the right wing criminals in prison where they cant hurt anyone else again.

[shira]

47. Leftwing Syriza partners w/ racist, xenophobic, homophobic rightwing party

https://theirategreek.wordpress.com/2015/01/26/strange-bedfellows/

[shira]

48. French far right rooting for hard-left Syriza in Greek poll

http://www.france24.com/en/20150120-france-far-right-syriza-greece-poll/

[shira]

49. France's far-right Marine Le Pen backs radical left Syriza in anti-EU populist union

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/greece-elections-frances-far-right-marine-le-pen-backs-radical-left-syriza-anti-eu-populist-1484316

[BigDemVoter]

50. "Radical Left"?

You don't hear mainstream media outlets EVER referring to fascist right wingers with the same dismissive language. I thought of that this morning when I heard some buffoon on the radio using the same terminology.