‘A new chapter in Greek history’

“Syriza wins 36.3 per cent: Greece turns the page,” headlines Ta Nea. In an editorial, the paper says voters have sent their first clear “no” to the policies that have led to successive EU-brokered bailout plans and the first “yes” to seeking alternatives —

Syriza, which launched its bid to enter Parliament a short time after the memorandum that led to the first bailout plan, has managed to ride the anti-austerity wave, evolve, mature and ultimately succeed in transforming itself into a major harbinger of change.

For I Kathimerini, the Syriza victory has opened a “new political scene” in Greece. The paper sums up leader Alexis Tsipras’s three main promises: “cancelling the memorandum, restructuring the debt and introducing reforms”. The paper notes that the new government will meet with national institutions before opening negotiations with the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund —

Tsipras has appeared as a unifying leader in referring to a victory for all Greeks. To begin healing the wounds of the crisis, he has announced that his priorities for the coming days will be to restore popular rule […] and to promote radical reforms.

“A victory charged with the weight of History: the country’s future in the hands of the left”, headlines Efimerida Ton Syntakton. For the daily, the triumph of Syriza is of great importance for all of Europe. At a time when European integration is being worn down by the far right and the forces of euroscepticism, Greek voters have sent a powerful message against bailout plans: “The two partners of the [outgoing] coalition, New Democracy and Pasok, have been punished for their policies,” writes the paper. But Syriza now has to prove it can govern —

The left has won the election and now takes up the responsibility of running the country. It is an incontestable victory that opens a new chapter in contemporary Greek history.