The Greek election will increase economic uncertainty across Europe. That’s why the UK must stick to our plan, delivering security at home.
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) January 25, 2015
So tweeted our Prime Minister following the Greek general election results over the weekend. The Greek electorate voted the anti-austerity, left-wing party Syriza into power.
The fear resulting from Syriza’s win is that it could lead to Greece exiting the eurozone. Its leader, and now the Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras’ pledge is to renegotiate the terms of the country’s massive international bailout to stop austerity hitting its citizens so hard. Anxiety about this meaning Grexit is on the horizon has already had the global markets jittering. The euro fell to $1.11 against the US dollar following the election result, which is the lowest level it has fallen to in over a decade.
Although there is cause for concern, Cameron’s response to Syriza’s win displays an astounding level of chutzpah. He is warning about what the prospect of Greece defaulting and exiting the eurozone would do to Europe’s economy, when his 2017 EU referendum would undoubtedly cause financial damage via a drop in investor confidence and business investment. Business leaders claim that his promise of a vote on Britain’s EU membership has already caused worrying uncertainty.
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