Antonia Dimou
(Senior Advisor, Research Institute for European and American Studies, Greece and Associate at the Center for Strategic Studies, University of Jordan)
Copyright: www.cceia.unic.ac.cy Publication Date on RIEAS web site: 15 February 2015
The national parliamentary elections in Greece highlighted the victory for the first time ever of left-wing Syriza party which gained 36.3 percent of the voter turnout securing 149 seats out of 300, short of an absolute majority. The election outcome prompted the formation of a coalition government with The Independent Greeks far-right party that supports an end to austerity. On the other side of the political spectrum, until recently ruling conservative New Democracy lost 2.1 percent of its vote share as compared to the 2012 national elections, a percentage that when converted into numbers represents a loss of 53 seats. Social democratic party Pasok continued to shrink and became the last political force that surpassed the 3 percent threshold with seats being reduced to merely 13 from 33 in 2012... Read more