Athens, 18/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - Europe is delighted that the Greek Conservative party, New Democracy, which backs the second Greek bailout programme, won the Greek general elections on Sunday 17 June. Pointing out that Greece must respect its commitments, the EU said on Monday that it would be possible to change details of some of the Greek austerity programme. Greece has voted to remain in the eurozone, but there is still palpable concern in Brussels about bolstering confidence in the eurozone economy as a whole.
Before leaving for the G20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, personally congratulated the New Democracy leader, Antonis Samaras, adding that Germany expects Greece to meet its commitments under the second bailout package. The German finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, said the Greek voters had chosen to press ahead with implementing ambitious economic and budget reforms, which is necessary, but will not be quick or easy. He said political stability would be needed to this end.
The Eurogroup issued the following statement ahead of its meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday evening: “The Eurogroup acknowledges the considerable efforts already made by the Greek citizens and is convinced that continued fiscal and structural reforms are Greece's best guarantee to overcome the current economic and social challenges and for a more prosperous future of Greece in the euro area. The Eurogroup reiterates its commitment to assist Greece in its adjustment effort in order to address the many challenges the economy is facing.” The president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, and the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso, explained in a joint statement: “Today, we salute the courage and resilience of the Greek citizens, fully aware of the sacrifices which are demanded from them to redress the Greek economy and build new, sustainable growth for the country. We will continue to stand by Greece as a member of the EU family and of the euro area.”
With nearly 30% of the vote, New Democracy has won 129 of the 300 seats thanks to the extra 50 seats it received because it was the previous government. It will be able to form a majority government with the Socialist party, PASOK, which won 12.3% of the vote (33 seats), the other party that favours the second Greek bailout. The two parties have taken it in turns to run the country for the past 40 years (since the generals were ousted), but were the parties blamed by a large section of the population for pushing Greece to the brink. With 26.9% of the vote and 71 seats, the far Left coalition party, Syriza, made big gains on the May elections. It has rejected calls from the Socialists for it to enter the new government. Its leader, Alexis Tsipras, said Syriza would be the main opposition party, anxious to set itself apart from the unholy alliance of the past. The nationalist party, Independent Greece, won 20 seats and the neo-Nazi party, Golden Dawn, won 18 seats. The Democratic Left and the KKE (Communists) won 17 and 12 seats respectively.
Greece's place in Europe will not be challenged and fear will not prevail, said Samaras on television on Sunday night, speaking first in Greek and then in English. He called on the other political parties to drop their sectarian quarrels and join a government of national unity that backs the pledges that have been made. On Monday, Samaras held talks with the other main parties to try and form a government.
Relaxing of terms and conditions? Europe and Greece's other international lenders might agree to renegotiate the memorandum in order to give the new Greek government some credibility. Both New Democracy and PASOK made this an election promise. The German foreign affairs minister, Guido Westerwelle, said it would be possible to give Athens more time to meet its commitments. The IMF director general, Christine Lagarde, said the IMF was re-examining the Greek programme because it is not clear what exactly has been implemented, what has been respected and what has not over the past six to eight weeks. The troika of lenders (European Commission, ECB and IMF) will send fact-finders back to Greece once a government has been formed.
EP wants reform of the eurozone. The president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, said: “The results show a broad and clear support in favour of Greece staying in the euro zone. // Greeks have made great sacrifices. I hope the burden of the reforms will be spread more equally to achieve greater social justice.” The chair of the EPP Group, Joseph Daul of France, said the vote was wise and the efforts already made, together with European solidarity, would help restore growth in Greece. The chair of the S&D Group, Austria's Hannes Swoboda, said: “The Greek people have made it crystal clear that they want a strong coalition government to handle the crisis and ensure that Greece remains in the eurozone. All pro-European political parties should be represented in the new government. In this respect the participation of Syriza in the government would strengthen the negotiation power in relation to the international community. There is a real need to take immediate action in various areas such as corruption, tax evasion and bureaucracy.”
Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE, Belgium) said: “The Greeks have shown that they intend to follow the path of Europe and of change. Europe in response needs to acknowledge this engagement and show good will by adjusting the memorandum that has so far been aimed at salary moderation and tax increases. A modified memorandum should help Greece in making the structural reform it requires. Privatisation must continue and revenue should contribute to the Growth Enhancement Fund that will break the vicious circle of disinvestment Greece however will not get out of the crisis alone if the Union itself does not change. We urgently need to establish a banking union and a credible fiscal union.” The Greens/EFA co-leader, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, said the new Greek government must not abandon the memorandum's objectives, but must resume talks with its partners to set a different timetable for reforms and must ensure they are socially sustainable. He said Europe must give Greece the time it needs to create stability and make use of the money available to launch an investment programme for jobs and sustainable economic growth. Like the Liberals, the Greens want the problems with the single currency set-up to be corrected through a budget union, a banking union, fiscal union, the creation of eurobonds and, in the immediate term, a redemption fund and giving the new bailout fund a bank licence. The GUE/NGL Group say that Syriza is the true winner of the elections in Greece. GUE/NGL leader Gabi Zimmer said the upcoming European summit must help Greece get out of the vicious circle of austerity. (MB/transl.fl)