Greek elections, round two: Will austerity lose out this time?

Tensions are extremely high ahead of a vote that could shape the future of a country and a currency. In an election with wide implications, the Greek people are holding parliamentary elections are really a proxy battle on the international austerity packages the country is being pushed to take by other international governments. This is actually the second round — a prior May 6 vote effectively created a stalemate due to the rise of the once-obscure Syriza party, which promises to cancel all austerity deals if elected. Above is a clip that explains exactly what’s at stake — the possible break-up of the Eurozone. And below, a couple of notable things that happened so far today:

• one Pro-austerity and anti-austerity parties are running close, according to one early exit poll. The “pro-Europe” New Democracy party is ahead of Syriza, 29 percent to 27 percent.
• two There have been reports of Golden Dawn party members standing outside polling stations, looking intimidating. The Neo-Nazi party had a relatively strong showing in the last election.
• three Two hand grenades were thrown near the headquarters of a Greek television station, Skai. They did not explode. The media group has heavily favored tough austerity measures. source

Follow our Tumblr • Send us a Tweet • Be our Facebook pal