Anti-austerity party’s election win may usher in new era in Greece

The families of UCLA students from Greece could be witnessing the beginning of a new era for the country, as far-left, anti-austerity party Syriza won its first parliamentary election last week.

The group Syriza, whose name is an acronym for a Greek phrase meaning “Coalition of the Radical Left,” promised to reintroduce the pre-austerity minimum wage and create 300,000 new jobs in Greece. These promises come at a time of economic crisis in the country, as well as record high levels of unemployment, which in 2014 reached 28 percent overall and 61 percent for individuals less than 25 years old.

As part of austerity measures, which are taken by the government to reduce its budget deficit, the Greek government has cut its spending over the last five years, including a 33 percent decrease in educational spending and a reduction of minimum wage from 751 euros per month to 580 euros per month.

Antony Protonotarios, a second-year business economics student from Greece, said he was not surprised by Syriza’s win.

“I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner. It’s been a long time coming,” Protonotarios said. “The majority was fed up with living under austerity measures, and they needed a change.”

Protonotarios, who has grandparents and other relatives living in Greece, said his family didn’t support Syriza since they do not work in the public sector and are not significantly affected by austerity.

Sam Dupas, a second-year aerospace engineering student who is also from Greece, said he expected Syriza to win, considering the widespread opposition to austerity measures. According to “The Economist,“ Syriza’s share of the vote increased by 9 percentage points between the 2012 and 2015 parliamentary elections.

“People in Greece have been having it rough for so many years, and then Syriza came along promising to make all these changes,” Dupas said. “Greek people, especially the young, unemployed ones, needed someone to make things better for them.”

Robert Spich, a professor of international business at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, said he thinks the election represents a strong reaction to a strong public policy of austerity.

As well as being anti-austerity, there are factions of Syriza that believe Greece should leave the Eurozone if the European Union does not forgive Greece of its debt.

“It’s not going to happen. Greece can threaten to leave, but it’s like you threatening to leave your family. It’s not a good negotiation option,” Spich said.

Ivan Berend, a professor of European history, said he thinks the European Union wants to keep Greece in the Eurozone, but not at the cost of writing off billions of euros in Greek debt.

“I think the Eurozone will accept a mild compromise, certainly less than what Syriza wants,” Berend said. “In any case, leaving the Eurozone is a very expensive action for Greece that could devastate the country.”

According to “Time,“ Syriza’s win in Greece may also set a precedent for other European countries, like Spain, looking to do away with austerity measures. A Spanish left-wing, anti-austerity party named Podemos is hoping to replicate Syriza’s success in Greece and renegotiate austerity measures in Spain.

“If Syriza achieved its goal, it would definitely generate a chain reaction. Heavily indebted countries, suffering from austerity restrictions, certainly wanted to get the same ‘gifts’ from the Eurozone. (But) I am sure this will not happen,” Berend said.

Spich expressed some doubts about Syriza’s leader Alexis Tsipras, despite the promises he has made.

“He’s quite young, and I don’t know how skilled he is. He’s been good for Syriza, but there’s a big difference between running a political party and running a country,” Spich said.

While some European leaders are uncertain about how Syriza’s win will affect the rest of Europe, Dupas said he is optimistic about the effect the party will have in Greece.

“It’s a positive result,” Dupas said. “Only time will tell if Syriza follows through with their promises, but I think they’ve given a lot of Greek people hope, which is something they haven’t had in a while.”