Greece

What is it about?

The coalition of New Democracy and the Panhellenic Socialist Party governed with a severely weakened majority in parliament (153 of 300 seats in January 2014). The Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) secured a clear lead in the May European Parliament elections. As a result of this defeat, a significant government reshuffle ensued. The choices made in this reshuffle signaled an attempt to regain the support of right-wing voters, while at the same time putting on hold the reform process. Unemployment remained high, at 26.5 per cent, and the economy remained in recession. Despite a modest improvement in several metrics in the third quarter of the year, the government reached an impasse with the ‘Troika’ during the final evaluation of the programme and Prime Minister Samaras called early presidential elections, which ultimately led to early parliamentary elections on 25 January 2015.

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Why is it important?

This article offers a thick description of political developments in Greece during 2014.