ELECTION RESULTS IN GREECE:

The results of the early parliamentary elections in Greece had a crucial role in the run-up to the EU summit, where the leaders of 27 countries were to share recipes and decide on ways to save the European economy from the severe crisis. The content of the rescue plan and the prospect of the eurozone itself depended to a large extent on who wins the elections in Greece, as each political force had its own attitude towards the measures to improve the Greek economy proposed by European and international financial institutions.

According to the results of the voting, Greeks mostly supported the parties that oppose the country's withdrawal from the eurozone and advocate the implementation of stringent obligations to creditors from the EU, the ECB and the IMF. First place was taken by the centre-right party New Democracy. New Democracy will have 129 seats in the 300-seat parliament.

Second place went to the radical left bloc SYRIZA. This bloc, headed by a young, charismatic and extremely ambitious politician Alexis Tsipras, gained 71 parliamentary mandates.

The former ruling centre-left party PASOK (Panhellenic Socialist Movement) came third. It will be represented by 33 deputies in the parliament.

Despite the fact that New Democracy and the Socialists are long-standing opponents, these parties agreed to form a new coalition government. The coalition also includes 17 MPs from the Democratic Left Party. Although the latter do not support the policy of austerity imposed - in their opinion - by Brussels and creditors, they are in favour of keeping Athens in the euro area. Thus, the coalition government led by Samaras is supported by 179 deputies of the Greek parliament. This alignment allowed the Brussels bureaucrats, who advocate austerity, to gain confidence and to stand up for themselves during the G20 summit held in the Mexican resort town of Los Cabos.

According to some experts, the leaders of the leading eurozone countries agreed not to stay on the defensive but to behave aggressively at the summit. The head of the European Commission, Mr Barroso, figuratively speaking, warned critics of Brussels straight from the doorway: "We will not allow anyone to teach us here. As the largest economic zone and trading partner of the international community, the EU is not responsible for the economic crisis. This crisis started in the US as a result of unorthodox practices in some areas of the financial market." The chairman of the European Council of the EU, H. V. Rompuy, noted the capability of the Europeans in his speech and noted some problems in some other G20 countries: "We adjust our internal imbalances. And we hope that other members of G20 will correct their external imbalances." These statements by senior EU officials suggest that Brussels clearly interprets the results of the parliamentary elections in Greece as support for its tough economic policies. However, the United States, China, India and South Korea still expressed concern at the summit that Europe is unable to cope with the debt crisis and that it could threaten the global economy. Yet there was no harsh criticism of the European crisis management, as was the case at the last G8 summit, especially as the position set out by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and H. V. Rompuy substantially limited the room for criticism. They pledged that EU decisions involve not only structural reforms and budgetary constraints, but also economic impulses.

Despite the reassuring results of the Greek elections for Europe, the question of Greece's further membership of the euro area and the prospect of a single European currency have not been fully removed from the agenda.

First, the political patron of the new prime minister, Samaras, (leader of New Democracy) was the former prime minister Konstantinos Karamanlis, whose government got the country into debt in 2004-2009. Following the resignation of Karamanlis' government when it was succeeded by the PASOK cabinet, Samaras criticized the EU-backed programme of "austerity in exchange for loans". But late last year, under pressure from the conservative parties of other eurozone countries, he reconsidered his views.

Second, PASOK and centre-right New Democracy, which have been succeeding each other in power during the last 38 years, are associated among experts as dysfunctional forces that exacerbated the crisis. According to experts, they were unable to create high-tech and knowledge-intensive industries in the country, mainly focusing on the development of tourism. Attracting unsecured investments, they take loans and thus fund social obligations.

Third, the stability and longevity of the coalition between New Democracy and PASOK, who are historical opponents, is greatly suspicious. Moreover, there is no known example of a model "marriage" between centre-right and center-left (in this case, New Democracy and PASOK) political forces, even if they went for an inevitable coalition. It should be noted that the centre-left, who are traditionally campaigning for socially-oriented economic policies, by and large agree with specific points of the proposed measures to improve the economy of the eurozone's problem countries. But this policy, in their opinion, should be softer and more flexible, without impoverishing the general population, especially public sector employees. In addition, they consider it wrong to cut jobs, which could eventually lead to a decline in production and productivity. Now is a good time for governments to develop a mechanism to create new jobs, which, in turn, will promote economic development and productivity and significantly reduce the speculative segments of the economy.

Fourth, the new Greek government will have to show extreme caution in their actions and take into account the extreme left bloc SYRIZA all the time. Notably, the leader of PASOK, Evangelos Venizelos, despite similar positions with New Democracy on the conditions of EU assistance, did not immediately agree to join the government as a junior partner. Initially, he even expressed a desire to see SYRIZA in the coalition cabinet. But the ambitious leader of SYRIZA, Alexis Tsipras, apparently, does not accept a government not led by his party. Stressing that he is going to work in opposition, Tsipras however noted that he favours Greece's stay in the euro area. Incidentally, the fact that the Socialist leader Venizelos expressed a desire to see Tsipras in the coalition suggests that the political "marriage" of convenience between New Democracy and PASOK is not so strong. But we have to choose the lesser of two evils.

It seems that the alliance between the centre-right and centre-left is not dictated so much by the coincidence of positions on EU crisis management plans as by a political necessity against the excessive growth in the popularity and consolidation of positions of the left-wing radical, right-wing and left-wing forces in recent years (and not only in Greece but also in many European countries). For example, in the same Greek parliament, the neo-fascist Golden Dawn party won 18 seats while the Communists are represented by 12 deputies. And since electoral empathy is a very changeable thing, it is possible that these forces will soon come to power in an entirely constitutional way. However, the success of SYRIZA and the demonstrative refusal of Tsipras to join the coalition prove that they are one step away from that goal. And these forces hold very different views on the anti-crisis measures of Brussels and in general, on the geoeconomic and geopolitical processes occurring in the eurozone and the EU as a whole. The coming of these forces to power can drastically change the situation in Europe.

The new Greek government is having to start working in such a difficult political and economic situation. Apparently, the new government is well aware of this reality, because under pressure from opponents, Samaras and Venizelos have already declared their readiness to review the terms under which international assistance is provided. In addition, the new prime minister of Greece has not yet said that he is not going to honour his obligations. But lenders are categorical. In particular, although German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed satisfaction with Samaras' victory, she made it clear that the Greeks must meet their financial obligations. Shock therapy is certainly necessary here. But in the run-up to the EU summit, German Finance Minister Schaeuble openly accused Athens of failing to honour its obligations: "Greece is not honouring its obligations. And this is the main condition under which the country has a chance to stay in the euro area. Throwing money at the debt crisis will not help to overcome this crisis. In any case, the Greeks still have a chance if they follow the path of Ireland and Portugal, which are actively pursuing reform." It is noteworthy that the accusations against Athens over the non-fulfillment of obligations came from finance minister of the interim Greek government, Giorgos Zanias. According to him, in violation of the agreements with the EU and the IMF, 70,000 people have been employed in the public sector in Greece over the past two years. During this time, 12,000 new employees came to local government bodies alone. Last year, the public sector recruited 16,000 workers, although the quota provided for twice as less. Most likely, Brussels will demand that Athens give an appropriate explanation for such a free interpretation of its obligations. One thing is clear - the election to the Greek parliament did not give comprehensive answers to the burning questions that Athens and Brussels need to resolve together. On the contrary, they revealed a deep political crisis in Greek society. Meanwhile, the crisis in the eurozone is becoming even deeper. And the whirlpool of economic collapse is swallowing up such countries (Spain and Italy) that the Greek problem looks almost like a childish prank.