Summary: Greece gets a new government
Full Story: Syriza forms government with rightwing Independent Greeks party
Full results
What we know so far
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2.04pm GMT
2.03pm GMT
Tsipras has sworn to serve the Greek people and alway uphold the constitution.
2.01pm GMT
Alexis Tsipras is standing in the Greek presidential palace right now, ready to be appointed as Greece’s new prime minister.
Prime minister Karolos Papoulias has just entered the room.
2.00pm GMT
We’ve been hearing from our readers in Greece about their initial reactions to Syriza’s victory - and its implications for Greek’s economic obligations.
“I am elated and worried at the same time. I am elated because the progressive political domain I traditionally belong in seems to be achieving a historical victory. But I am worried because, despite Alexis Tsipras’ declared intentions to fight against austerity, the conservative political forces in Europe seem irremovably positioned against that prospect.”
“We can now take a deep breath, looking forward to the negotiations and the changes that will create new opportunities and possibilities. We feel emotionally relieved and optimistic for the future.”
“However,it is undeniable that the Eurozone has pressured us relentlessly all these years. “[Syriza] should try to negotiate with realistic and feasible goals.”
1.58pm GMT
If you’re just joining us, check out this summary by Shiv Malik
1.51pm GMT
Alexis Tsipras is very very close to being Greece’s new prime minister.
The Syriza leader just arrived at the presidential palace, Helena Smith reports from Athens.
I want to hope and believe that the absolute majority we have secured of 162 seats will increase during the confidence vote… we have to expedite procedures because an uphill struggle awaits us.”
#Greece Tsipras to Prez Papoulias: Mr President, after yesterday elex, I met w Kammenos and he agreed to give confidence vote
1.46pm GMT
The White House says America is looking forward to working closely with the new Greek government.
White House on Tsipras' election #Greece #ekloges2015 pic.twitter.com/RMzfdicXZ2
1.39pm GMT
Many established European parties have seen falling support since the financial crisis began, but the collapse suffered by the left-wing PASOK party is quite remarkable:
From PASOK-land to Syriza-land in one map (via @makisv1): pic.twitter.com/wMuRmmSDWW
1.36pm GMT
Alexis Tsipras also intends to talk to the heads of two other parties, the centrist To Potami and the communist KKE, after being sworn in today.
He’ll be seeking their support even if they do not join the coalition.
Potami's Theodorakis says Syriza's deal with ANEL a 'bad omen' for the new govt. To meet Tsipras 1700 GMT; vote of confidence for gov't open
1.25pm GMT
Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, has written a letter of congratulation to Alexis Tsipras:
. @atsipras I look forward to working with you for the benefit of the citizens of Greece and the European Union pic.twitter.com/5XNGl9R3rr
1.18pm GMT
Syriza have confirmed that prime minister in waiting Alexis Tsipras has been meeting with Archbishop Ierōnymos:
#Tsipras meeting with Archbishop of Athens now. Oh, for a microphone in the room. http://t.co/NbCr1PNkes
Tsipras Won't be Sworn In by Archbishop, but will Give Political Oath | http://t.co/saWAxMgELT http://t.co/9N37qf09AQ via @sharethis
1.16pm GMT
Belgium has added its voice to the chorus telling Greece to stick to the plan:
Belgian Fin Min @jvanovertveldt ahead of #eurogroup: "[Troika] agreements should absolutely be respected" http://t.co/eIdcYZJtau #Greece
1.10pm GMT
Here is reaction to the Greek election from Ireland, with Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams welcoming the Syriza victory but others warning that the Irish government would be worried by the outcome. Henry McDonald in Dublin writes:
Gerry Adams had spoken to the Alexis Tsipras on the phone on Friday to wish him luck ahead of the Greek poll. Following the result Adams said Syriza’s victory “opens up the real prospect of democratic change not just for the people of Greece, but for citizens right across the EU”.
Veteran anti poverty campaigner in the Irish Republic Father Sean Healy described the result as “the politics of hope” and that the austerity politics of “business as usual is not an option”.
12.47pm GMT
Here’s the inside line on the populist, nationalist, pro-German war reparations, anti-austerity group who are going to be part of Greece’s next government:
12.45pm GMT
Pierre Moscovici, the European Commissioner for Economics and Finance, says the EU recognised what he called “the clarity and legitimacy of the new Greek government”.
Julian Borger, our diplomatic editor, reports from Brussels:
Moscovici, a member of the French Socialists, said that he looked forward to negotiations with the new Greek PM, Alexis Tsipras as soon as possible, stressing that the European Commission and the new government had a lot of goals in common.
Speaking on arrival at a Eurogroup meeting of Eurozone finance ministers, he said: “We all want a Greece that stays on its feet, creating jobs and growth, reducing inequality, and a Greece that repays its debt.”
12.37pm GMT
Greece is getting a new anti-austerity coalition government, just hours after the leftwing Syriza party won a sensational victory in Sunday’s general election.
Greece is headed into a new era of anti-austerity as the radical leftist Syriza successfully formed a government with the Independent Greeks party after falling agonisingly short of an outright majority in Sunday’s landmark elections.
“I want to say, simply, that from this moment, there is a government,” the Independent Greeks leader, Panos Kammenos, told reporters after emerging from a meeting at Syriza’s headquarters.
“Not only will [the coalition] drive a harder line in the debt negotiations, making a compromise even more difficult. But it could also undermine political stability in Greece in the medium term
My statement on the Greek elections. http://t.co/PMi8h1xvku
12.25pm GMT
In the UK, Labour party leader Ed Miliband has responded rather cautiously to his fellow left-wingers’ triumph in Greece.
I’ve taken the quotes from Politics Home:
“Just like our elections are a matter for the people of this country, so who the Greek people elect is a decision for them.
“It is the responsibility of the British government to work with the elected government of Greece for the good of Britain and Europe and not to play politics.
Ed Miliband responds to Syriza's victory in Greece: http://t.co/tPAl8heKNg
12.23pm GMT
Greece has €4.3bn of debt repayments due in March, and then more than €6bn will fall due in July and August.
So what might happen now?
In the immediate term, one likely first step will be extending the financial bailout beyond February 28. This buys time. The ECB is also very likely to continue providing liquidity to Greek banks on favourable terms, which Greek financial institutions so desperately need, and Greek bonds will benefit from the ECB’s latest round of QE - despite Mario Draghi warning that “some additional eligibility criteria will be applied in the case of countries under an EU/IMF adjustment programme.”
In the past, two rounds of relief were applied to Greece’s debt burden (which now stands at 175% of GDP), these extended the maturity of the country’s debt to an average 16.5 years, double that of Germany and Italy, and also provided an interest rate cut. Total interest expenditure in 2014 was 2.6%, only marginally above France’s 2.2%.
Alexis Tsipras will most probably not convince other eurozone members to abolish large amounts of Greek debt. But a plan under which Greece would repay its debts according to future economic growth rates may be given some attention.
In mid-January, the European Commission unveiled new guidelines that allow for greater flexibility on EU budget violations. These changes will provide greater fiscal flexibility and extensions on missed targets to countries like Italy and France in exchange for relevant reforms. The FT’s Peter Spiegel wrote at the time “the new guidelines for the first time make explicit that a country can get a waiver of EU deficit rules by proposing a significant economic reform plan”.
12.16pm GMT
Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem was sticking very much to the Eurozone script by ruling out a debt write-off this morning, while hinting that talks to make the debt more sustainable might be possible.
A Eurozone review of Greek debt sustainability is underway. The overall debt is 175% of GDP, €317 billion, which is a lot. But in terms of the burden of annual debt servicing, it is about 4% of GDP which is not as bad as some other Eurozone countries like Ireland, Portugal and Italy, and there are predictions that the Greek interest payment burden will continue to fall as a share of GDP this year.
The reason is that most of Greek debt is official debt to government, at relatively low interest rates. So in the view of some in the Eurozone, Greek debt is not unsustainable by European standards, and to agree to write down the debt would send the wrong signals to other big debtors in the zone.
11.57am GMT
In case you missed it, Paul Mason has written a great piece about how Syriza’s victory is a triumph for passionate youth over corruption and elitism.
@paulmasonnews: "The classic couple in a dysfunctional economy is a grey-haired man with a twentysomething woman." http://t.co/QtuqwEpyDd
11.49am GMT
Germany has pledged to work with Greece’s new government, but not given any hint that it might support a debt deal.
My colleague Louise Osborne reports from Berlin:
In a press conference on Monday, government spokesman Steffen Seibert said: “The Greek voters have chosen Syriza and we have to respect that … Currently, we have a result and no government. But when we do we will offer to work together with them.”
However, Seibert made clear that any talks on the current issues would not be taking place between Germany and Greece, but between Greece and the European partners.
11.45am GMT
David Cameron’s spokeswoman has just told reporters in Westminster that he respects the Greek people’s decision, but the country must deal with its debts:
11.42am GMT
In France, the extreme-right National Front leader, Marine Le Pen, led the cheers for the Syriza victory, hailing “the start of the trial of euro-austerity”, writes Anne Penketh.
“Whoever has heard of a debtor dictating its terms to its creditors, particularly after pocketing money?”
L'effet domino, vite ! - http://t.co/MlMDqfmaE8 - Nouvelle note de blog sur #Syriza et la dette de la Grèce. #Tsipras pic.twitter.com/dRG8eTtu8D
11.36am GMT
Greece will be the major topic of conversation at the eurogroup meeting of finance ministers in Brussels today.
Our diplomatic editor Julian Borger is there, and reports:
Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch president of the Eurogroup, has just arrived at the European Council headquarters in Brussels for the first meeting of the Eurozone’s finance ministers since the dramatic Greek election result.
He send the Eurogroup was ready to talk to the new Greek goverment “as soon as it is up and running.”
11.32am GMT
Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem has warned that there isn’t much support for writing off Greece debt across the eurozone.
Dijsselbloem: "We stand ready to work with [Syriza], as we've always stood ready to work with the previous Greek government"
Dijsselbloem: "We've already done a lot to lift the debt burden for Greece in terms of interest and maturity..."
Dijsselbloem: "The possibility of a further extension we will discuss today with the Eurogroup but also with the Greek government"
The key question. Dijsselbloem: "Writing off debt in nominal value? I don't think there is a lot of support for that in the Eurozone."
11.24am GMT
Greek media are making much of the fact that both French Left Party leader Jean-Luc Melenchon and Front National leader Marine Le Pen have BOTH congratulated Syriza on its electoral victory, writes Helena Smith.
Greek media are now reporting that Syriza’s leader Alexis Tsipras will be formally sworn in at 4PM local time. At 40 he becomes the youngest Greek prime minister in modern times.
He will also break tradition by not being sworn in by the head of Greece’s orthodox church, Archbishop Ieronymos. A self-described atheist, Tsipras, who has also refused to tie the knot in a religious ceremony with his long-time partner, Betty, will make a courtesy call to the cleric at 2:30 PM.
11.19am GMT
Newsflash from Brussels: EUROPEAN COMMISSION SAYS READY TO ENGAGE WITH NEW GREEK GOVERNMENT ONCE IT IS FORMED
Not that they have much choice - Tsipras has just been democratically elected
11.11am GMT
Video: Optimism and uncertainty on the streets of Athens following Greek elections
11.09am GMT
Finland’s prime minister has floated the prospect of giving Greece some wriggle-room over its debt payments, but insisted that a Greek restructuring is unacceptable.
Alex Stubb congratulated Syriza on its success, before warning:
If the new Greek Government commits itself to the earlier agreed arrangements and necessary structural reforms, we are ready to discuss the possibility of extending Greece’s programme by a few months.
Finland will not accept a demand for debt cancellation which made part of the discussions prior to the elections.
My statement on the Greek elections. http://t.co/PMi8h1xvku
11.01am GMT
Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, says Greece cannot be given special treatment over its debts.
“There are internal euro zone rules to be respected. We cannot make special categories for such or such country.”
“It’s not a question of austerity measures, these are in-depth reforms that remain to be done,”
10.56am GMT
#Greece Tsipras to take civil oath in swearing-in ceremony at 16.00 (EET) with Pres. of Democracy Papoulias TR @doleross #ekloges2015
10.54am GMT
Now hearing that Alexis Tsipras will be sworn in at 4pm local time, or 2pm GMT.
10.53am GMT
Alexis Tsipras will meet with the Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens in around 90 minutes time, at 2.30pm local time (or 12.30pm GMT)
The swearing-in ceremony is traditionally heavy with religious ceremony. But might Tsipras, who was accused of atheism last year, want a different approach?
@damomac seeing (reliable) tweets that tsipras meeting with archibishop to seek permission for a civil oath.
10.45am GMT
#Syriza & #IndependentGreeks coalition is worst possible outcome: @wolfpiccoli talks #Greece http://t.co/rGzMTnzXC7 pic.twitter.com/5jJj6SMfHU
Wolf Piccoli of Teneo Intelligence reckons that a Syriza/Independent Greeks coalition is the ‘worst possible outcome.
At the end of the day, the Independent Greeks are a conspiracy-prone, nationalist party.
It is a bad mix, and no experience in government on either side.
10.39am GMT
10.38am GMT
Greek media are reporting that Yanis Varaufakis has been given the brief of finance minister. Varaufakis insisted this morning that Grexit was not ‘on the cards’.
The official announcement comes later
Acc 2 local media, @ydragasakis may be appointed Deputy PM supervising Fin & Dev Ministries, @yanisvaroufakis FinMin. #Greece #ekloges2015
.@yanisvaroufakis as FinMin almost feels like as big of a story as Tsipras as PM.
10.34am GMT
The German government has already declared that Greece will not get debt relief.
Reuters reports:
A senior lawmaker from Angela Merkel’s conservatives said on Monday “with us there will be no further debt reduction for Greece,” in reaction to a pledge by Greek election victor Alexis Tsipras to renegotiate Greece’s debt agreements.
Norbert Barthle, spokesman on budgetary affairs for the conservatives in the lower house of parliament, told Reuters by telephone that Tsipras, whose leftist Syriza party swept to victory in a snap election on Sunday, must realise that German taxpayers are liable for a large portion of Greek aid.
10.30am GMT
Open Europe’s analyst Vincenzo Scarpetta warns that the Syriza-Independent Greeks coalition “could prove problematic””
“Not only will it drive a harder line in the debt negotiations, making a compromise even more difficult. But it could also undermine political stability in Greece in the medium term.
While the two parties agree on rejecting EU-mandated austerity, they disagree on a number of other issues.”
10.23am GMT
A smattering of instant reaction to the coalition deal:
Key question has been: will Syriza moderate policies post-election? Coalition with the Independent Greeks suggests the answer is 'no'.
#Syriza & its creditors are stuck in a Gordian Knot, both sides will need to cave on smthing. @economistmeg on @AP http://t.co/T4dFcqM9U5
Syriza’s choice of coalition partner will worry Brussels. Sig reduces chances Greece will compromise on bailout. Coming months will be bumpy
Syriza coalition with right wing Indy Greeks- they can't change EU migration law, but probably give them something on church / military?
10.20am GMT
Alexis Tsipras (on the right) was understandably cheerful when he met with Panos Kammenos, chairman of the right-wing Independent Greeks party, today to hammer out a coalition.
10.12am GMT
Some details of the new government are leaking out:
#Greece | Syriza MP Dragasakis [@ydragasakis] to become Deputy PM overlooking Finance & Economy Ministries, to lead negotiations w Eurozone.
10.10am GMT
So, rightwing Independent Greeks to join leftist Syriza in anti-austerity govt. Uneasy bedfellows one would think. Cabinet composition tbc.
10.09am GMT
Alexis Tsipras is expected to meet with other party leaders today to discuss the way ahead; Channel 4’s Paul Mason reckons he will be looking to make agreements on various issues.
tsipras also expected to meet with theodorakis (potami) and koutsoubas (kke), presumably after he receives mandate to form government.
Syriza-ANEL coalition - Tsipras is constructing issue by issue coalitions. Most of what he needs to do does not happen in parliament.
10.05am GMT
Helena Smith confirms that Greece’s new prime minister Alexis Tsipras will meet president Karolos Papoulias at 3.30pm:
The head of state is expected to hand the radical left leader a mandate to form a government.
Insiders saying in ideal world a new government will be formed by the time the euro group of euro area finance ministers meets in Brussels this evening. Express elections, express government!
10.04am GMT
Greece’s government could be wrapped up by dusk; Alexis Tsipras is due at the presidential palace at 3.30pm local time, or 1.30pm GMT.
Tsipras to meet Greek president Karolos Papoulias at 3.30pm, will submit the names of his cabinet. Things moving fast here.
10.02am GMT
Alexis Papachelas, one of Greece’s leading commentators has warned that “huge political instability lies ahead” following Sunday’s election.
10.01am GMT
The New Statesman’s George Eaton sums up the new Greek government for UK readers:
Syriza has just formed a coalition with the Greek equivalent of UKIP (The Independent Greeks or ANEL).
10.01am GMT
This is an unusual coalition.
Alexis Tsipras’s army of left-wing radicals will be sharing the government benches with a group of populists right-wing MPs who broke away from New Democracy in 2012.
9.56am GMT
Traders on the Athens stock market have hailed the quick creation of a coalition. The ATX index has reversed this morning’s 5% slump, and is now flat.
Bank shares are recovering too; Piraeus is only down 6.6%, having shed 16% earlier.
9.51am GMT
Parliamentary mathematics time: the new government will have a working majority of 162 seats in the 300-seat parliament (Syriza’s 149 MPs plus the Independent Greeks with 13).
BREAKING: Coalition announced, as expected, between SYRIZA and ANEL (Independents with 13 MPs, giving a majority of 162).
9.48am GMT
The coalition deal means that Tsipras can now be summoned to the Greek presidential palace to be given a mandate to form a government.
We’ll then get details of his cabinet ministers.
kammenos: the cabinet will be announced by the prime minister. we executed the mandate of the greek people.
9.45am GMT
So, Tsipras has managed his first task - agreeing a coalition between his radical left-wing Syriza and the populist right-wing Independent Greeks.
The hard work starts here, though, as veteran conservative MP and former health minister Antonis Georgiadis explains.
“The [economic] evaluation has to be concluded as soon as possible. It’s not a matter of months or weeks but days! I very much hope that Alexis and Panos [the government’s two new leaders] can save Greece.”
9.35am GMT
It’s official: Greece has a government - a coalition between Syriza and the Independent Greeks.
Less than an hour after talks began, Panos Kommenos, leader of the Independent Greeks party has emerged from Syriza’s party HQ saying the country has a new government.
“I want to say, simply, that from this moment, there is a government.” “The Independent Greeks [party] will give a vote of confidence to the prime minister Alexis Tsipras.
“The prime minister will go to the president and … the cabinet make-up will be announced by the prime minister. The aim for all Greeks is to embark on a new day, with full sovereignty.”
#GreekElections we have a new government announces on greek TV Kamenos leader of independent greeks ... pic.twitter.com/CcG0ncXDqg
9.33am GMT
Alexis Tsipras must achieve “deep structural and institutional change” in Greece before trying to get a debt deal out of Brussels.
So argues Greek journalist Nick Malkoutzis this morning. He reckons that Syriza’s top priority should be to reform the justice system, the civil service, the tax-collection operations, to show eurozone allies he is serious.
If SYRIZA really wants to seize the opportunity it has been given then the best service it can offer to Greece is to deal with the deep-rooted malaise in the public administration and political system.
This will offer Greece a sounder platform for the future than a reduction in the public debt or a faster rate of growth. In fact, securing the last two without the first will only lead to Greece ending up in the same place it is now sooner or later.
9.32am GMT
9.23am GMT
There’s a mixed reaction in German newspapers to radical leftist Alexis Tsipras’s triumph.
Front page digital edition of Germany's tabloid @BILD: "Euro schock as Tsipiras triumphs!" #ekloges2015 pic.twitter.com/BabAHYwzFS
“Sorry, Mr Tsipras, but that’s going too far! The Eurozone is no gambling den in which every gambler can do what he wants. And where once closed agreements can be questioned at one’s own pleasure. What applies here is: An agreement is an agreement!”
“The victory of Syriza is a chance for Greece to free itself from the decades of corruption and nepotism, with which both the conservative New Democracy and the social democratic Pasok were inextricably bound,”
9.16am GMT
Are you one of Greece’s 9.8 million voters? After the historic win by Syriza, we’d like to hear your hopes and fears for the future of the country.
Visit GuardianWitness to take part.
9.12am GMT
Dimitris Vitsas, a member of Syriza’s central committee has just told SKAI TV that “our immediate and most pressing priority is to alleviate the humanitarian crisis.”
“The Greek people have cancelled the policies of the memorandum,” he said referring to the deeply unpopular bailout accords outlining the onerous conditions of EU-IMF aid to debt-stricken Greece.
“We don’t want a rupture [in relations] with Europe … disagreement is one thing, rupture quite another.”Despite all the forecasts of economic catastrophe with the advent to power of a left-wing government “we have woken up to a sunny day.”.
“The banks haven’t closed, they are operating normally, schools are open. Everything is just as it should be.”
9.02am GMT
Greek bonds have also fallen in value this morning.
That has pushed up the yield, or interest rate, on Greece’s 10-year bonds trading in the markets to 8.96% this morning, up from 8.74% on Friday.
Investors flee Greek bonds after Syriza win. #Greece's 10yr yields jump by 22bps to 8.96%. pic.twitter.com/K0uypwhLxw
8.59am GMT
Greek bank shares have slumped in volatile early trading in Athens.
The ATG stock index has tumbled by over 5%, as investors raced to offload stocks following Syriza’s success.
8.51am GMT
Syriza’s victory in the Greek election will “increase economic uncertainty across Europe”, prime minister David Cameron has warned (writes political editor Patrick Wintour) .
“I certainly understand that if you have unemployment at 25%, if your economy has shrunk by 20%, as the Greek economy has over recent years, you are looking for other answers, alternatives – because ultimately this is just the latest chapter in the eurozone crisis. It increases economic uncertainty and it reminds the United Kingdom that it needs to work through an economic plan that is delivering lower unemployment, and growth and economic security.”
“People get tired of economic failure. They get tired of rising unemployment. And in the UK, returning to economic chaos, returning to the lack of an economic plan would see higher unemployment. So i think the lesson for us is: continue to work through the plan that is working, that is delivering that higher job rate …
“What people don’t like is economic policies that don’t work; in the UK, we have an economic policy that is working.
“People here – and indeed this is true across the country – are seeing greater economic security, jobs being created, more personal prosperity as earnings rise faster than prices. So I think what you see is not a defeat of austerity; it’s a defeat of economic plans that don’t work. And in Britain we’ve got an economic plan that is working.”
“I don’t think it’s just a question about the public finances. I think that is a panacea, It is a false hope that it’s just a question of spending more money in these countries. One of the reasons these countries are in a mess is because they weren’t able to bring their public finances under control in the past”.
8.39am GMT
The coalition talks between Alexis Tsipras and the Independent Greek party have begun, slightly earlier than expected.
From Athens, Helena Smith reports:
Such it seems is the enthusiasm for a new change of course that Panos Kammenos, head of the small, populist right-wing Independent Greeks party has turned up EARLY for talks at Syriza’s HQ with Alexis Tsipras.
Greek media reporting it is almost “100 percent certain” that a coalition government will be formed. Skai TV says radical left leader Alexis Tsipras may even announce its make-up later in the day. Neither Tsipras nor Kammenos have much in common - bar the desire to see punishing austerity ended.
8.36am GMT
Greece’s debt pile is simply too high for the country to return to growth and services its borrowing, says Professor Christopher Pissarides.
Pissarides, of the London School of Economics, explains:
“You can’t really have growth coming out of such a deep recession by running the kind of budget surpluses that are needed [to repay debts] at the same time”.
8.33am GMT
The CEO of Greek Bank Piraeus then told the Today Programme that savers are less nervous than in 2012.
“There is definitely not a bank run. Definitely not the panic we saw a few years ago”
8.30am GMT
What are the chances of Greece still being in the eurozone in one year, or five years?
We who are in the eurozone must not toy with loose or fast talk about Grexit or fragmentation. If that happens, disruptive forces would be unleashed.
8.25am GMT
Syriza MP Yanis Varoufakis says his party will show Europe a plan that cuts the cost of this debt debacle to the average German, the average Slovak, who is even poorer than the average Greek.
What details can you give us?
8.21am GMT
Yanis Varoufakis, a Syriza MP who is tipped to become Greece’s next finance minister, is being interviewed on the BBC’s Today Programme now.
Congratulated on Syriza’s success, Varoufakis replies soberly that:
It’s a poisoned chalice, but I accept your congratulations.
Fiscal waterboarding has turned us into a debt colony.
8.09am GMT
The London stock market has fallen at the start of trading, but it’s a muted reaction.
The FTSE 100 is down just 28 points, or 0.4%, at 6804.
8.07am GMT
Events are moving fast in Greece. Alexis Tsipras is due to meet with the leader of the right-wing Independent Greeks, Panos Kammenos, at 10.30 a.m local time (or 8.30am GMT).
Tsipras should also receive a mandate from president Karolos Papoulias to form a government today.
Including the Independent Greeks in the coalition suggests we can expect dangerous brinkmanship in the Greek govt's negotiation w the troika
8.00am GMT
Britain’s chancellor has denied that austerity has been defeated in the voting booths of Athens.
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne told BBC Radio that:
“People get tired of economic failure, they tired of rising unemployment ... what you see is not a defeat of austerity, it is a defeat of economic plans that don’t work and in Britain we have got an economic plan that is working,”
“I hope that both sides now act responsibly....It is certainly in the United Kingdom’s interests that we have stability, that we have a proper dialogue here between members of the euro.”
The Greek election will increase economic uncertainty across Europe. That's why the UK must stick to our plan, delivering security at home.
7.54am GMT
Priti Patel, Conservative MP in Westminster, just told Sky News that Greece’s economic problems are “a stark reminder that we should never join the euro”.
7.51am GMT
Syriza’s victory should energise the battle against austerity across Europe, argues the Green Party.
MEPs Keith Taylor and Molly Scott Cato just issued a statement, saying:
Greens share the view of the new government that austerity is a failed model which has piled misery on the poorest while making the wealthiest even richer.
This result shows that challenging business as usual politics can win the support of the people. In the UK we are witnessing a Green Surge, in no small part due to our anti-austerity agenda, and we hope the Greek election result marks the beginnings of ordinary people standing up to a discredited economic model and failing Governments across Europe.”
7.47am GMT
News of Syriza’s victory has pushed the euro to an 11-year low.
The single currency hit $1.1098, for the first time since September 2003, as investors anticipate clashes between Alexis Tsipras and the EU.
7.41am GMT
(via the eKathimerini newspaper)
7.37am GMT
Good morning.
The people of Greece have spoken, demanding an end to the austerity that has gripped the country since the debt crisis began.
The verdict of the Greek people ends, beyond any doubt, the vicious circle of austerity in our country,”.
“The verdict of the Greek people, your verdict, annuls today in an indisputable fashion the bailout agreements of austerity and disaster. The verdict of the Greek people renders the troika a thing of the past for our common European framework.”
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