Greek radical left wins election, threatening market turmoil - Washington Post

A woman waves a Greek flag during a speech by the leader of Syriza left-wing party Alexis Tsipras outside Athens University Headquarters, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015. A triumphant Alexis Tsipras told Greeks that his radical left Syriza party’s win in Sunday’s early general election meant an end to austerity and humiliation and that the country’s regular and often fraught debt inspections were a thing of the past. “Today the Greek people have made history. Hope has made history,” Tsipras said in his victory speech at a conference hall in central Athens. (Fotis Plegas G./Associated Press)

By Associated Press January 26 at 2:37 AM

ATHENS, Greece — Greece’s left-wing Syriza party is preparing to launch coalition talks hours after a landmark general election victory fought on a pledge to rewrite the country’s massive bailout deal with the eurozone.

Alexis Tsipras’ Syriza just missed a majority in parliament after defeating Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ conservative coalition by a wider than expected margin.

With 99.8 percent of the vote counted, Syriza won 149 seats in the 300-member parliament with 36.3 percent of the vote. The conservatives were on 27.8 percent, and the extreme right Golden Dawn party in third place with 6.28 percent.

Tsipras is to meet the leader of the right wing Independent Greeks party, an anti-bailout ally, on Monday morning, with the party already expressing willingness to join a coalition.

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