Greek leftists sweeps elections, forms anti-austerity coalition

Greece’s leftist Syriza party has swept to power in a historic vote, promising to end years of painful austerity policies and putting the country on a collision course with the EU and international creditors.

In a result that exceeded analysts' expectations, Syriza and its 40-year-old leader Alexis Tsipras won 149 seats in the 300-seat Greek parliament, just two short of an absolute majority, with most of the votes counted on Sunday.

The party subsequently announced that it had struck a deal with the right-wing party Greek Independents to form an anti-austerity coalition. Despite representing opposites on the political spectrum, the two parties are expected to unite around their mutual hatred of the EU/International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailouts, which ushered in a series of painful austerity measures in Greece. 

The former ruling New Democracy was routed in the election and reduced to around 76 seats.

Syriza says it does not want to leave the euro. But its opposition to the bailouts has led to fears of further instability within the eurozone.

Tsipras, a former Communist youth activist, was sworn in as prime minister Monday, becoming the youngest Greek prime minister in 150 years, promised to end the “five years of humiliation an pain” that the country has endured since bailouts saved it from bankruptcy in 2010

"Greece is leaving behind disastrous austerity," he told thousands of flag-waving supporters in Athens:

Tsipras repeated his pledge to renegotiate the terms of Greece's $269bn bailout with the EU and the IMF, but struck a more conciliatory tone than during his fiery campaign.

"The new Greek government will be ready to cooperate and negotiate for the first time with our peers a just, mutually beneficial and viable solution," he said.

After its most severe crisis since the fall of its military government in 1974, Greece's economy has shrunk by some 25 percent, thousands of businesses have closed, wages and pensions have been reduced, and unemployment among young people is over 50 percent.

At the same time, its public debt has climbed from 146 percent of gross domestic product in 2010 to 175.5 percent last year, the second highest in the world.

Antonis Samaras, the outgoing prime minister, conceded defeat early on in the count and said he hoped the new government would not endanger the country's EU and euro membership.

"I hand over a country that is part of the EU and the euro. For the good of this country, I hope the next government will maintain what has been achieved," Samaras said in a brief address to reporters on Sunday after exit polls pointed to a victory for the left-wing Syriza party.

Right-wing parties also have a reason to celebrate the blow against the EU consensus, he added.

The far-right Golden Dawn and pro-European To Potami are in a neck-and-neck race for third place with percentages between 6.4 and 8 percent respectively, according to polls.

The Syriza win could represent another turning point for Europe after last week's announcement by the European Central Bank of a sizable injection of cash into the bloc's flagging economy after years of trying to rein in budgets and pushing countries to pass structural reforms.

Greece’s progress in reforms is subject to review by inspectors from the IMF, European Commission and European Central Bank, collectively known as the troika, before each installment of bailout funds can be released.

Tsipras pronounced the troika and its regular debt inspections "a thing of the past."

Greece's creditors insist the country must abide by previous commitments to continue receiving support. In Germany, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann told ARD network that he hoped "the new Greek government will not make promises it cannot keep and the country cannot afford."

The election results is expected to be the main topic at Monday's meeting of eurozone finance ministers. Belgium's minister, Johan Van Overtveldt, said there is room for some flexibility, but not much.

"We can talk modalities, we can talk debt restructuring, but the cornerstone that Greece must respect the rules of monetary union — that must stay as it is," Van Overtveldt told VRT network.

Al Jazeera and wire services