BARCLAYS
·On the third and last round of the presidential election, the government coalition candidate, Mr. Stavros Dimas received 168 favorable votes out of a possible 300. This compares with 160 and 168 votes in the first and second rounds respectively (where a 200 vote majority was required). Thus, support for the government’s presidential candidate remains unchanged and below the required majority of 180.
·According to the Greek constitution, the Parliament now needs to be dissolved and general elections held. Today it was decided that they will take place on January 25. After that, if it transpires that a coalition government is required, extra time may be needed to facilitate its formation. We expect increased market volatility given the higher uncertainty about the potential election outcome and the policy stance of the new government, especially since Syriza has never been in government.
·Most recent polls have shown a steady picture with Syriza polling in first position. Although the gap between Syriza and New Democracy has tended to narrow in early December (compared with previous months), Syriza has consistently polled in first position since July this year (see Figure below). Based on these polls, we would expect Mr Tsipras’ party (ie, Syriza) to win the general elections. However, the polls also signal that Mr Tsipras would not be able to gather an absolute majority in Parliament, implying that he would have to seek coalition partner(s). We think that Syriza could form a government coalition with some members of PASOK, and/ or To Potami. An alternative scenario would be that Syriza decides to stay in opposition, particularly given that Greece has yet to pass the fifth programme review (to receive financing and before negotiating a precautionary line), which implies that the country will remain closely monitored by Troika. Our baseline scenario implies negative ramifications for the economy, for example, uncertainty would hurt confidence even excluding any effects from newly decided policies. From this perspective, we would welcome a quick resolution with elections held quickly and expediency in the event that a coalition is required.
·Regardless of whether Syriza decides to lead a government or stay in opposition, we think it is important to understand the party’s line on three key topics: EMU exit, Sovereign default and the Troika programme. Generally, we find that its stance on these issues has softened materially over the past couple of years.
·EMU exit: Syriza is clearly no longer calling for Greece to leave the euro area/EU.
·Sovereign default: Reuters reported (15 May 2014) that Mr Tsipras said that he would be keen to seek an international write-off of about one-third of Greece’s debt. Nonetheless, importantly, he added that he would prefer a consensus solution rather than using the option of a Greek default as a tool. In addition, more recently, The Financial Times (19 September 2014), cited Mr Tsipras as saying that eurozone countries should grant debt relief to Greece. He argued that the debt should be restructured into GDP-linked bonds, offering an incentive to other eurozone government to boost growth in Greece. Such a statement seems to be a progression from his initial proposal released in January 2014 (as he was gearing up for the EC presidency). In his 10-point manifesto, he notably called for a European debt conference. We think OSI remains a possibility for Greece, but not in the near term and only in the context of a successful completion of the programme and new conditionality for a new credit line from the ESM (and separate financial support from the IMF). We think an outright default remains unlikely although it cannot be entirely ruled out. Similar to an EMU exit, such an outcome would bring very significant financial stress, and Greece’s nascent recovery in growth and confidence would be reversed, particularly as the country remains highly dependent on external financing.
·Troika programme: Syriza has always strongly opposed “troika” intervention. Mr Tsipiras has recently softened his stance, limiting his opposition to the design of the current programme. In his 10-point programme, he notably called for an immediate end to austerity, suspending the new European fiscal framework. Furthermore, he has reportedly been willing to implement an €11bn fiscal stimulus programme, which calls for, among other things, restoring the minimum monthly salary to €750 (broadly where it was before) and restoring pensions and public employee salaries. In our view, it appears unlikely that Greece’s international creditors would agree with some of those measures (notably to cancelling some of the measures to improve competitiveness). Instead, we think Syriza would have to negotiate macroeconomic conditionality with the troika to unlock the necessary financial support. The reforms/macroeconomic conditions are likely to be focused on structural and pro-growth reforms, while preserving past fiscal consolidation measures. A key element here is the role of the ECB under a potential QE programme, which we expect to be announced on 22 Jan 2015. It is likely that a troika programme would be a necessary condition for the ECB to include GGBs into the QE programme.
·Finally, we think that the uncertainty generated by the upcoming Greek general elections is likely to create some volatility in other European markets, especially in the European periphery. While we do not expect the market dynamics that took place when “redenomination risk” was still relevant (ie. prior to mid 2012), the general elections in Portugal and Spain in 2015 will likely extend the uncertainty of the Greek elections, especially if Syriza wins. Portugal will have general elections by mid 2015 and Spain by end 2015. In Spain the radical-left party Podemos, which has similar political ideology to that of Syriza, has publicly supported a restructuring of the Spanish public debt and the overturn of the labour market and pension reforms of recent years.