Greece rejected the punishing economics of austerity on Sunday and sent a warning to the rest of Europe as the left-wing Syriza party won a decisive victory in national elections, positioning its tough-talking leader, Alexis Tsipras, to become the next prime minister.
With 92 per cent of the vote counted, Syriza had 36 per cent, almost 8 points more than the governing center-right New Democracy party of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who conceded defeat.
The only uncertainty was whether Syriza would muster a parliamentary majority on its own or have to form a coalition.
Alexis Tsipras, leader of the Syriza party, gestures as he speaks to supporters at at Athens University in Athens, Greece, on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015. Tsipras said that Greece's era of bowing to international creditors is over, as he celebrated his party's victory in Greek elections dominated by a public backlash against years of budget cuts.
Image Credit: Bloomberg
