After ECB, Greek elections the next market hurdle

With the European Central Bank signing up for a large bond-purchasing program, the next obstacle for the European Union is the election in Greece.

Greek voters elect a new parliament on Sunday, with the anti-austerity opposition party Syriza favored to win, but without an overall majority.

The polls put Alexis Tsipras and Syriza ahead of the ruling New Democracy party of Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.
Tsipras has vowed to convince the ECB and euro zone to write down the value of their Greek debt holdings to allow him to increase public spending and stimulate job growth.

"There is a good chance they could win, and if they begin moving away from fiscal austerity, other members of the EU are going to say: 'No more lending, no more life support.' On Monday morning you'll know," De Clue said.

After borrowing nearly $278 billion from the EU and International Monetary Fund, it'll be up to the next Greek government to negotiate a final bailout tranche.

ECB President Mario Draghi said on Thursday that the ECB would not hold more than 33 percent of the debt of a single issuer, an edict that excludes Greece from accessing the ECB's bond-buying program until at least July.

Regardless who wins the election, the heightened unease between Athens and its creditors means that either Tsipras or Samaras will find a tough road in satisfying Europe and the IMF without politically unpopular moves at home.