Greece's Controlling Parties Thrashed--Reuters

Markets may open down across Asia, and then Europe and the US as minority parties appear to have made major gains in Greek elections. The coalition which has run Greece throughout its most recent financial disaster may be significantly challenged by anti-austerity forces. A political rejection of austerity, and, thus, the terms of Greece’s bailout, could well throw the EU’s rocky finances into disarray and tip the opinions about the near-term futures of Portugal and Spain negative.

There are already concerns among global capital markets investors that the EU does not have the bailout funds to handle the financial collapse of three countries. Some economists believe that if Greece leave the EU, it would enter years of depression.

According to Reuters:

exit polls showed conservative New Democracy and Socialist PASOK, who have dominated Greece for decades, reaching a maximum of 37 percent of the vote combined.

In a huge upset, a previously small leftwing party, the Left Coalition, was predicted to take around the same share of the vote as PASOK with 15-18 percent. In the previous election in 2009 they had less than 5 percent.

PASOK, which took 44 percent of the vote in a landslide victory in that election, was shown with between 14 and 18 percent, according to polls by Kapa Research and a pool of five companies for Greek television stations.

New Democracy also appeared particularly hard hit with a vote share way below opinion poll predictions of around 25 percent.