Greece's Election May Lead to Clash With EU Over Austerity

On Jan. 25, Greeks will turn out for a general election that three weeks ago they didn’t know was coming. The trigger: a provision of the country’s constitution that required conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to call a snap election when his candidate for president—a ceremonial position—couldn’t muster enough parliamentary votes to get the job.

The consequences, however, will not be trivial. For more than four years, Greeks have lived under austerity policies imposed by international lenders and the European Union. Many hope a new government will offer a reprieve from higher taxes, fewer jobs, lower wages, and more expensive goods and services. “At this point, the government is destroying the country,” says Myrto Rigopoulou, a psychologist and translator in Athens. Fearful about Greece’s stability, people aren’t planning for the future, says Maria Karaklioumi, a pollster and political analyst in Athens. “They don’t think about what will happen in two or three years. They’re in a continuous race for daily survival.”