The results of Sunday’s elections in Greece brought the left wing party Syriza a breath away from an absolute majority. The party was 2 seats away from getting the 151 required in order to form a government of its own. The government was formed in cooperation with the party Independent Greeks that won 13 seats in the parliament. Besides all that, what does a left wing government 
really mean for bitcoin in Greece?
What things are like in Greece
It’s quite well known that Greece is in an economic crisis. Not many things have changed from the time Greece became insolvent back in 2010. The fact that Greece elected a left-wing government for the first time after being governed by conservative right-winged parties for decades highlights the desperation austerity measures has brought to the Greek people. It was proven that the countless austerity measures brought by the previous government weren’t helping Greece to overcome the crisis. Syriza stepped on the wrong decisions of the past governments and gained the trust of the people promising the end of Austerity Measures while staying in the Euro.
Could a left-winged government in Greece be “bitcoin friendly?”
While many have suggested that bitcoin could be a future solution to Greece’s financial problems it seems unlikely that any major political force in Greece would stand behind the use of any unregulated form of currency. Syriza might be considered a left-winged party; however, as the party grew to become a political force through the years, it requited (and gained support from) many members of non left parties. Furthermore, the party formed the current government with Independent Greeks, a right-wing, national-conservative party. The new finance minister of Greece had even made his not so friendly stance on bitcoinclear in the past.
Is Greece adopting bitcoin?
The sad truth when it comes to ‘bitcoin adoption’ in Greece is that there’s little to none. Greece is far from a booming economy right now, and the words ‘innovation’ or ‘startup’ are not considered common in Greece despite some interesting efforts. Of course, as a consequence of this deeply rooted problem, there’s almost no actual bitcoin adoption in Greece. This deeply rooted problem is probably caused by the theproblematic Greek educational system and overbearing bureaucracy. Attempts from the previous government to modernize the educational system were met with intense protests by the entire student community. Those unsuccessful changes were ultimately discarded by Syriza days after the elections.
Bitcoin’s current state and future in Greece
Finally, it’s worth noting that there is a small yet active community of bitcoiners in Greece. Some small businesses have even started accepting payments using the currency. Additionally there’s a Greek bitcoin exchange powered by btctrader as well. Summarizing, it’s worth noting that lots of changes have been proposed by Syriza. Despite all the rumors though, Syriza openly stated that Greece won’t be exiting the Euro zone. Changing some of Greece’s most complex problems is surely going to take a lot of time and effort. Change in Greece is unlikely to happen at such a fast pace to catch up with the current bitcoin revolution. Investing in better education is mostly known to have long term positive effects. And while Greece might be in need of some innovative startups to help its economy and unemployment issues right now, bitcoin still remains a small internet ‘subculture’ for the country.
Images from twitter.
Source : http://www.newsbtc.com/2015/01/28/will-bitcoin-solution-greeces-deep-rooted-problems/
