Greece’s new anti-austerity coalition

The recent parliamentary election in Greece was a triumph for the radical left-wing Syriza party, which became the largest party and fell two seats short of an overall majority. It has formed a coalition administration with the small Independent Greeks party, with Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras as Prime Minister. The outgoing government had imposed strict austerity measures in return for bailout loans from the “troika” (European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank). Syriza, by contrast, is often portrayed as anti-austerity and anti-bailout. Some have speculated that the policies of the new Syriza-led administration might ultimately lead to a Greek exit from the Eurozone.