The victory of anti-austerity party Syriza in the Greek election will “increase economic uncertainty across Europe”, David Cameron has warned.
The British PM’s comment came as the chancellor, George Osborne, said the promises by Syriza would be “very difficult to deliver and incompatible with what the eurozone currently demands of its members”.
His comments amount to a warning that Syriza’s demands will require exit from the eurozone. He denied that the Greek vote reflected opposition to austerity but was instead a vote against economic policies in Europe that had not been working.
There are likely to be calls from the left in Britain for a tougher anti-austerity stance from the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, but they will be resisted by the shadow chancellor, Ed Balls.
Labour is likely to argue that Syriza’s success does not have huge significance for Uk policies since Britain is outside the eurozone. But the Green party will argue that the vote shows latent public support for bolder calls to protect the poor and boost public spending.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Osborne said: “I certainly understand that if you have unemployment at 25%, if your economy has shrunk by 20%, as the Greek economy has over recent years, you are looking for other answers, alternatives – because ultimately this is just the latest chapter in the eurozone crisis.
“It increases economic uncertainty and it reminds the United Kingdom that it needs to work through an economic plan that is delivering lower unemployment and growth and economic security.”
He added: “People get tired of economic failure. They get tired of rising unemployment. And in the UK, returning to economic chaos, returning to the lack of an economic plan would see higher unemployment. So I think the lesson for us is: continue to work through the plan that is working, that is delivering that higher job rate...
“What people don’t like is economic policies that don’t work; in the UK, we have an economic policy that is working.”
He said the south-west alone has seen almost 100,000 jobs created over the last year, one of the fastest job-creation rates across the world.
“People here – and indeed this is true across the country – are seeing greater economic security, jobs being created, more personal prosperity as earnings rise faster than prices. So I think what you see is not a defeat of austerity; it’s a defeat of economic plans that don’t work. And in Britain we’ve got an economic plan that is working.”
He rejected suggestions that the solution lay in higher public spending. “I don’t think it’s just a question about the public finances. I think that is a panacea, that’s a false hope that it’s just a question of spending more money in these countries. One of the reasons these countries are in a mess is because they weren’t able to bring their public finances under control in the past.”
Green MEPs hailed the result as a victory for the forces opposed to austerity. Keith Taylor, Green MEP for South East England, and Molly Scott Cato, MEP for South West England, said: “The result of the Greek elections has shown that the people of Greece have taken a strong stand against the politics of austerity. Greens share the view of the new government that austerity is a failed model which has piled misery on the poorest while making the wealthiest even richer. This result shows that challenging business as usual politics can win the support of the people.
“We hope the Greek election result marks the beginnings of ordinary people standing up to a discredited economic model and failing Governments across Europe.”
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