Greek Voters Back Bailout – Conservatives Win Narrow Victory

Voters in Greece backed pro-bailout forces in today’s elections easing fears of a euro zone rupture.
The Wall Street Journal reported:

Greek voters broke months of political stalemate by narrowly endorsing pro-bailout forces in a momentous election, easing fears of an imminent rupture with the euro zone—for the moment.

The result, giving the pro-austerity conservative and socialist parties enough votes to form a fragile and awkward ruling coalition, won’t erase the immense problems that face Greece and the euro zone, both apart and together.

But the showing by the conservative New Democracy party, which came in first and has pledged to continue cooperating with Europe, was enough to skirt two outcomes policy makers and investors feared far more: a win by the anti-bailout leftist Syriza party, or a confused muddle that left Greece hobbled by political infighting.

“Among the realistic scenarios, it is the best case,” said Alberto Gallo, head of European macro credit research at Royal Bank of Scotland in London. “It buys Greece some time to negotiate.”

Analysts expect markets to turn positive Monday, in relief that the euro zone’s crisis didn’t end in calamity Sunday. Past rallies on favorable news, however, have often faded quickly or reversed in recent months.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy celebrated the election results.
The BBC reported:

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.

We look forward to work with the new government and to support the continued efforts of Greece to put its economy on a sustainable path.

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Jim Hoft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016. In 2023, The Gateway Pundit received the Most Trusted Print Media Award at the American Liberty Awards.

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