UKIP Leader Forecasts Greece's Exit From Eurozone by Year's End

MOSCOW, January 29 (Sputnik) — The UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader predicted via Twitter Thursday that Greece will exit the eurozone by the end of 2015 as the recently elected anti-austerity party comes to power.

Monday marked the election victory of the Syriza party in Greece, upsetting the incumbent New Democracy party and gaining close to a majority in the country's parliament.

At his first Cabinet meeting Wednesday, the new Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced plans to renegotiate the country's $270 billion bailout debt with the so-called troika of international creditors.

After the victory by the radical left coalition, European leaders were quick to downplay the possibility of a write-off of Greece's external debt and popular fears over its economic future. German, British and European Commission leadership expressed confidence that Greece would adhere to the financial commitments made by the previous administration.

In 2010, the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund extended a 110-billion-euro ($123 billion) bailout package to ease Athens' acute economic crisis. Two years later, the troika provided and additional $146 billion in debt relief, due December 2014, and the IMF extended a further $9 billion in January 2015 until the following March.

All three default-prevention packages were contingent on Greece's adoption of severe austerity measures, including pay cuts, pension cancellation and other structural reforms as well as the privatization of government assets such as ports, railways and other institutions. The new Greek government is expected to defy these austerity measures, as being bad for the economy and unhealthy for Greek citizens.