Greeks go to polls in critical snap general election

Greeks were voting Jan. 25 in an early general election crucial for the country's financial future, with the radical left Syriza party of Alexis Tsipras tipped as the favorite to win, although possibly without a large enough majority to form a government.
     
Tsipras had been firmly ahead of conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' New Democracy party in opinion polls leading up to the election, which is being held nearly two years ahead of time. But polls also showed a significant portion of voters were undecided two days before the vote.
     
Syriza has run on a campaign of renegotiating the country's 240 billion euro international bailout deal, and has pledged to reverse many of the reforms pushed through to qualify for the rescue loans that have kept Greece financially afloat for the past four years.
     
The anti-bailout rhetoric has renewed fears of Greece's ability to definitively emerge from its financial crisis that saw a quarter of its economy wiped out, sent unemployment soaring and hammered the euro, the currency shared by 19 European countries.
     
The country's creditors insist Greece must abide by its commitments to continue receiving support, and investors and markets alike have been spooked by the anti-bailout rhetoric. Greece could still face bankruptcy if a solution is not found, although talk of 'Grexit' - Greece having to leave the joint currency - and a subsequent potential collapse of the euro itself has been far less fraught than during the last general election in 2012.
     
Samaras' campaign focused on the gradually improving economy, which grew for the first time in six years in the third quarter of 2014, and has promised to reduce some taxes if re-elected. He has warned of the...