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The Greek crisis and Hungary

December 31st, 2014

Népszabadság warns that the possibility of electoral victories by new, anti-establishment movements in southern Europe makes the future of the Euro-zone increasingly uncertain. Hungary’s adoption of the common currency may thus be postponed to the distant future.

A spectre is haunting Southern Europe, the spectre of the outraged,” Népszabadság writes in its front page editorial, paraphrasing the “Communist Manifesto” by Marx and Engels. Greece, the weakest link of the Euro-zone has failed to elect a new president and is thus facing snap elections in January. The far-left Syriza party may well come in first and the 50 mandate bonus offered by the electoral law to the winner may bring it to power. Although Syriza leaders have lately conspicuously refrained from threatening to leave the Euro-zone, Népszabadság believes that such a move is not to be excluded. Moreover, Syriza’s success would be a strong boost to the Spanish “Podemos” party that has grown out of the protest movement called the “Indignados” (“Outraged”). Thus Spain, just like Greece, may also be shifting from a bi-polar to a tripartite system, with an anti-establishment party overtaking the moderates in the polls. On top of it all, nobody knows what the outcome of the elections in Great Britain will be later next year. As a result, the plight of the Euro is more uncertain than ever, and EU member countries (including Hungary) outside the Euro-zone may gain further pretexts to keep their distance from the common currency, the authors conclude.

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