Greece’s SYRIZA party gained the key backing needed to form a government yesterday, creating a surprise alliance with a small right-wing party that signals possible confrontation over the nation’s economic bailout.
Although the alliance between two ideologically opposed parties who share only their opposition to the bailout was a surprise, it nevertheless boosted stock markets across Europe that had fallen on news of the uncertain election results and fear of a second election. Stocks had fallen by as much as 4 percent in Athens yesterday morning.
The right-wing Independent Greeks party said it would back SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras to be the next prime minister, after he fell just short of the majority needed to govern alone following Sunday’s poll.
“From this moment, the country has a government. Independent Greeks give a vote of confidence to [Greek] Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras,” Independent Greeks leader Panos Kammenos said — without clarifying whether he would join a coalition with Tsipras, or give support to a minority government.
Tsipras has promised to renegotiate Greece’s massive bailout agreements, but has vowed not to take any unilateral action against lenders from other eurozone nations.
With 99.8 percent of the vote counted, SYRIZA had 149 seats in the 300-member parliament with 36.3 percent of the vote. The ruling conservative coalition retained 27.8 percent, and the extreme right Golden Dawn party finished in third place with 6.28 percent.
Tsipras’ choice to negotiate with the Independent Greeks — a party aligned in Europe with the UK Independence Party — rather than the centrist Potami caused concern that he could take a tough line in negotiations with rescue lenders.
SYRIZA financial planning official Giorgos Stathakis yesterday confirmed that the new government had no plans to meet with negotiators from the “troika” of the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the IMF, and would instead seek direct talks with governments.
Greek voters swung to the once-marginal left-wing party after five years of punishing austerity measures demanded under 240 billion euro (US$269 billion) bailout deals threw hundreds of thousands of people out of work and left nearly one-third of the nation without state health insurance.
The new government faces an immediate cash shortage, with a dwindling primary surplus, upcoming loan repayments and limits on the money it can raise using treasury bill auctions.
Manulife Asset Management chief economist Megan Greene said the government will be unable to afford to run its day-to-day operations and pay back debt that is due next month in the absence of additional cash from international creditors.
“SYRIZA and its creditors are stuck in a Gordian Knot, and both sides will need to cave on something. Neither Greece nor its creditors want Greece to default or exit the eurozone, so a compromise will probably be found,” Greene told reporters.
The new alliance “suggests the new government will engage in dangerous brinkmanship with Greece’s creditors, as it tries to negotiate funding to stave off utter bankruptcy over the next few months,” she said.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
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