摘要：The fi rst month of 2015 ended with two big-bang events for European policymaking: in Athens, the Greek electorate brought to power a radical-left party which built its electoral campaign on an anti-austerity, anti-memorandum platform; in Frankfurt, the European Central Bank (ECB) took the long-awaited but stubbornly challenged deci- sion to launch a large programme of quantitative easing to instil liquidity and re-ignite infl ation in the sluggish eurozone economy. And while the ECB’s move was immediately received as a signifi cant “critical juncture” (by both advocates and opponents of the decision), it was the election in Athens that sent the strongest shockwaves through the political scene in Europe. Following years of half-hearted and half-effective austerity policies, SYRIZA’s impressive victory in the snap election of 25 January signalled a clear public mandate for the pursuit of a different path to fi scal consolidation, with new priority given to pro-growth policies and the reversal of the austerity policies and struc- tural reform agenda of the past fi ve years. Soon after the announcement of the election result, the leader of SYRIZA, Alexis Tsipras, declared proudly to a jubilant crowd of SYRIZA supporters – including representatives of left parties from Italy and Spain – that the election result marked the end of austerity, both in Greece and in Europe.
