When Alexis Tsipras charged onto the stage , palms clasped high and a broad grin greeting his supporters , he could have been mistaken for the election winner . In fact Tsipras , leader of the Syriza party , had conceded defeat to New Democracy just half an hour earlier . His radical left party will not support the center-right election winner , but remain in opposition . The outcome sent a shudder of relief through the markets and Europe , whose leaders applauded New Democracy 's win as a showing of courage and resilience from the Greek people . But Sunday 's result -- delivering nearly 27 % support for Syriza -- has upended the Greek political landscape , splintering the duopoly which has controlled the country for almost four decades . As negotiations over a new government continue , questions are being raised around which party -- or parties -- will emerge as the country 's dominant center-left force . Pasok , under the Papandreou dynasty , has long staked that claim . But now , with its vote collapsed to just over 12 % from almost 44 % in 2009 , it faces a fight for survival . For many Syriza supporters , Sunday 's results were a triumph . Beyond its six-fold increase in support in three years , the party is now set up to be an active agitator on the opposition benches . Read about the human cost of Greece 's recession . And Syriza does not have to run a country in deep recession , with unemployment over 20 % and that faces a real risk of toppling out of the euro -- a challenge for the most experienced political hands . Sunday 's results were an `` enormous success , '' said Eliana Voutsadakis , a 36-year old architect and Syriza supporter . `` I think Tsipras will become prime minister in the next couple of years . '' Tsipras is 37 , born the year Greece 's military dictatorship fell , and as such represents a political future unfettered by history , according to Voutsadakis . `` He has n't been brought up in this corrupt political system , '' she said . `` This is what we hope for . '' As for New Democracy and Pasok : `` No one wants them . '' Instead Tsipras , who had sworn to tear up the austerity plans because he believed it was sending the country to `` hell , '' will likely be a strident voice against the country 's leaders . He has said the party , from its position as opposition , will continue to demand the bailouts be scrapped and believes it will be `` vindicated '' for that position . `` Even if it did n't manage to take the first place , Syriza is now the most basic body representing the average individual , the progressive and the anti-memorandum [ anti-bailout ] portion of our population , '' Tsipras said . Greece 's economic orphans . According to Pavlos Tsimas , a Greek journalist and political commentator , Syriza has corralled not only those angry at austerity , but the youth who may be voting for the first time . That age group remembers Syriza 's backing of their protests during the riots of 2008 , which followed the fatal shooting of a teenage boy by police , Tsimas said . But much of the party 's recent success is down to Tsipras , who Tsimas describes as `` very bright , and very ambitious , and a little bit ruthless too . '' A trained civil engineer , who joined the Communist Youth of Greece as a high school student , Tsipras shot to prominence in 2006 . After being put forward as a candidate for the mayor of Athens , he swept 10 % of the vote to come third -- far more than previous left-wing candidates had managed . At that point , he became a `` media darling , '' Tsimas said . He has since built a young guard around him , who are of `` another generation ... new , fresh and different , '' Tsimas added . Syriza can now try to establish themselves as a `` true , center-left '' party which is `` young , radical and clean ... with no skeletons , '' Tsimas said . But it could face competition from a Pasok and Democratic Left coalition , should they choose to work together . Tsipras faces an entrenched political system and a Europe desperate to dampen instability as it continues with its austerity plan -- even one which may be diluted . Former prime minister George Papandreou , who negotiated the country 's first bailout after revealing the country 's 2009 budget deficit would be most than four times higher than the EU limit , told CNN Monday he believed Pasok 's moves to cut the deficit had enjoyed wide support . `` I do n't consider Mr. Tsipras a progressive , '' the former Pasok leader said . `` I think our agenda was actually a progressive agenda , in reforming the country and changing the country and making the necessary changes in order to be a viable economy and a very transparent and just state , '' he said . Papandreou said lessons could be learnt , such as pushing stimulus packages alongside austerity . But a key destabilizing factor , he said , is `` the deep sense of uncertainty . For the last two ... two and a half years , what [ has been ] most corrosive in the Greek society but also in the Greek economy is the sense of this lack of certainty ... that we may be in , or out of the euro . ''
Syriza increases its support six - fold in Greek politics . It has announced it will not support New Democracy in Greece . Its dramatic rise in support comes at the cost of Pasok . The result could mean a battle for the center left .