Tsipras hails Greek election triumph of 'hope'

"Today the Greek people have made history. Hope has made history," Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras told supporters in Athens on Sunday night.

He used his victory speech to pledge that with his election, Greece was "leaving behind disastrous austerity" implemented under the government of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and the conservative New Democracy party.

"The verdict of our people means the troika is finished," Tsipras said, referring to the three institutions, the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank, which have bankrolled the financial bailout that kept Greece from going into default over the past few years.

"The new Greek government will be ready to cooperate and negotiate for the first time with our peers a just, mutually beneficial and viable solution," Tsipras said, repeating one of the key promises around which he built his election campaign.

Since 2010, Greece has introduced painful austerity measures in order to comply with the terms of the 240-billion-euro ($270 billion) bailout. The measures have included things like redundancies and wage cuts in the public sector, as well as cuts to pensions and other social services. With unemployment at 25 percent, Samaras' argument that the economy could be just about to turn the corner and that the austerity measures should continue was always going to be a tough sell.

Time to deliver

Whether Tsipras will be able to deliver on his promise of a better deal on Greece's bailout remains to be seen. Critics have warned that it he fails, this could lead to the so-called "Grexit" scenario, which would see the country leave the euro common currency area.

European Union finance ministers are scheduled to meet in Brussels on Monday to discuss the possible repercussions of the Greek election result.

German Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann told ARD public television on Sunday that the new Greek government would be expected to meet its obligations under the bailout deal.

"The Greek election will increase economic uncertainty across Europe," warned Britain's Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron via his Twitter account late on Sunday. "That's why the UK must stick to our plan, delivering security at home."

France's Socialist president, though, congratulated Syriza on its election victory.

A statement released by the French presidency said Francois Hollande expressed the "desire to pursue the close cooperation between our two countries in service of growth and the stability of the eurozone, in a spirit of progress, solidarity and responsibility."

Meanwhile, it wasn't clear late on Sunday whether Syriza would win the minimum 151 seats needed to govern alone. However, partial official results have removed any doubt that Syriza would have the most seats in the new parliament. With 60 percent of polling stations reporting, Syriza was at 36 percent, compared to 28 percent for New Democracy.

Samaras concedes

Prime Minister Samaras has conceded defeat, saying he respected the decision of the voters, but that he had no regrets about the austerity path that he had embarked upon.

"New Democracy will remain ready to play a decisive role in future developments, as the guarantors of the country's European course," Samaras said in remarks broadcast on Greek television.

Greece's snap election was triggered in December when Samaras failed in three attempts to secure parliamentary backing for his nominee for president.

pfd/cmk (AFP, Reuters, dpa, AP)