In a front page article titled “Snap election in Greece reignites fears for eurozone,” the Financial Times analyze the current political and economic landscape in Greece, following Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ announcement of a snap presidential election yesterday.

The negative reaction of the international markets, the fact that speads soared (8%) and the Athens Stock Exchange recorded the biggest one day fall since 1987 (12.8 drop) are attributed by the prestigious British newspaper to Mr. Samaras’ decision to call a snap election for the position of the President of the Republic. More specifically, the newspaper mentions that if the PM fails to secure the 180 votes for his candidate, Stavros Dimas, an early general election could follow and the investors fear that radical left Syriza party will come to power.

“Such an outcome would reignite fears about Greece’s place within Europe’s monetary union,” columnists Elaine Moore, Robin Wigglesworth, Kerin Hope and Peter Spiegel underline, adding that SYRIZA plans to follow a different policy from the coalition government which will put Greece at odds with the country’s lenders.

“Greece in the next 6 weeks may prove to be more important for global markets than Russia/Ukraine was in 2014,” told the British newspaper Charles Robertson, chief economist at Renaissance Capital, adding that “a possible Syriza election victory may force the eurozone to choose between a fiscal union (debt write off for Greece) or the first Euro exit.”