A POPULIST BOMB

The recent elections in Greece will be the subject of heated debates, both in the EU and beyond, for some time to come - Including in Azerbaijan, where for obvious reasons, the focus of the debate is the fate of its own gas projects connected with Greece.

And there are indeed plenty of topics for discussion. To recap: A coalition of radical left-wing forces in Greece, Syriza, led by Alexis Tsipras took 36.36 per cent of votes cast in the parliamentary elections, securing 149 seats. This, however, is not enough to ensure a majority in the 300-seat unicameral parliament and form a government on its own; the radical left fell short of securing a mandate. But Syriza formed a coalition with the small, centre-right Independent Greeks. An alliance between radical leftists and nationalists might seem hard to believe to those well versed in classical political science, but Syriza and the Independent Greeks are united in their shared Euroscepticism.

Tsipras made no attempt to hide the fact that his party is opposed to the memorandums that Greece signed with the EU regarding loans in exchange for austerity measures. According to Tsipras, Greece will begin to pay off its debts only after the country's recession is over and the economy starts to grow. Greece's debt exceeds 200bn dollars.

Placards at a an election rally left no doubt, with messages ranging from "Hope won!" To "Good night, Frau Merkel!". Thousands of Greeks rejoiced in the streets of Athens and other cities upon learning that Syriza had won. "Greece is turning a new page, leaving behind disastrous austerity," said Tsipras. "We leave behind five years of humiliation and pain. The choice that the Greek people have made, without any doubt, breaks the vicious cycle of austerity in our country. Today the Greek people cancelled an agreement with its creditors. They brought us only poverty and misery."

Many people have been talking about the popularity of Eurosceptics in recent years. In France, the National Front, led by Marine Le Pen, has achieved remarkable success. Le Pen called Syriza's success a "horrific democratic slap in the face" for the European Union. Spain's Eurosceptic party, Podemos, is also growing stronger.

The EU's "engine" countries reacted to Tsipras' victory with outward sympathy. The new Greek leader received all due congratulations and fanfare. German Chancellor Angela Merkel congratulated Tsipras on his victory in Greece's elections and expressed hope to strengthen cooperation.

But in reality, the EU was understandably concerned. And it is already making it clear that Athens should not count on generous "gifts" and favours. Brussels does not intend to write off Greece's external debt, said European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro. "The question of whether or not to cancel Greece's debt is not one worth asking. The other countries in the eurozone will not agree to it," said Juncker, adding that Brussels is open to dialogue and does not pose a "threat to Greece". The head of European Commission explained that the results of the parliamentary elections in Greece, which were won by the extreme left-wing Syriza party, do not fundamentally change the situation. According to Juncker, it is possible that new agreements could be reached "but they would not fundamentally change what's already there".

Jean-Claude Juncker's statement came after one of Greece's main creditors, Germany, said that there could not be any talk of writing off debt. "I cannot imagine writing off debts," said the Vice-Chancellor and Economy and Energy Minister Sigmar Gabriel. While it is true that Berlin is not excluding the possibility of extending Athen's financial bailout, this decision should be taken at the EU level. During the first meeting of Greece's new cabinet, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras declared his readiness to begin negotiations with the EU and the IMF on the terms of Athens' repayment. "We are ready for talks with EU partners to find a viable, equitable and mutually beneficial solution to the debt problem," he said. The prime minister said that there will not be "catastrophic clashes" with Brussels, but at the same time, Athens will not continue "the destructive policies of subordination".

And since the Eurozone does share a common currency, this is a cause for worry not only for Greece and its creditors. The election results in Greece showed that the EU implemented the wrong policy of support, the chairman of the parliamentary committee on Foreign Affairs of Finland and leader of the True Finns Timo Soini said in an interview with Yle.

"The election results are a knockout blow to this wrong policy. Mistakes were made over the course of five years, and now we are seeing the result," said the politician.

Soini thinks that the election results will lead people to believe that the Eurozone crisis is not yet over.

He also warned that if Greece is offered debt relief, then same Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Cyprus will demand the same.

It's hard to say what Syriza's policies will be like in practice. Tsipras, an admirer of Che Guevara, who never wears a tie as a matter of principle, is one of those politicians who can most accurately be described as a populist. Although some pundits dismiss him as more of an "air seller" based on his speeches and hard talk. And they probably are not far from the truth. Tsipras is promising everything to everyone and all at once: to farmers - lifting of sanctions against Russia; to the unemployed - generous benefits; to the working - new rules under which it would become virtually impossible to dismiss an employee; to supporters of social equality - high taxes on the rich, abolition of austerity measures and preservation of EU membership... There's just one problem: all these political promises are highly unlikely to exist in one package.

However, there is something more pressing at hand. The very six-year recession that originated in Greece did not originate in a vacuum. This is not something that those in Athens nor in Brussels like to remember, but the root cause of the crisis was primarily bloated social, or more accurately, populist programmes, and not only in Greece. One cannot live beyond his means forever. This may be an internal problem for Greece, but this country is part of the Eurozone - with all the attendant circumstances. Not to mention the fact that Ireland, Iceland, and Spain have all experienced severe crises... Even France with its powerful economy lost an "A" from its highest credit rating (dropping from "AAA" to "AA"). Experts drew complex graphics, juggled words like "hedge funds", but in reality they recognized that the European economy could not withstand the pressure of the "social sphere". It was not just a burden, but also led a large part of society to believe that governments must care after its citizens who do not even need to work and earn a living. Greece simply was the first country where the "populist bomb" exploded at an election.