Grexit Threats Do Little To Encourage Anti-Euro Sentiment

With bailout negotiations dragging on and no resolution in sight, many are beginning to worry that Greece could soon default and eventually be forced to leave the eurozone. The nation has been in hot water ever since the leftist Syriza party took power and newly elected Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras began reversing the nation's austerity measures. Now, with a lot of money and Greece's future on the line, Tsipras is attempting to make good on his campaign promises to end the nation's era of austerity and renegotiate the terms of Greece's bailout.

However, Tsipras has made very little headway with EU leaders, who say they are adamant about withholding the money until Athens demonstrates a serious commitment to financial and economic reform. Most expected EU leaders to back down when faced with the possibility of Greece's exit from the eurozone, but instead policymakers have kept their calm and refused to back down from their demands and markets have remained relatively stable.

While Greece itself leaving the eurozone has always been a concern, one of the larger worries among EU leaders was that other radical parties would rise to power as well, perpetuating the anti-euro sentiment. Parties like Spain's Podemos and Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) saw an increase in support when Syriza came in to power, but it seems that support is fading as Greece struggles under its new leadership. On Wednesday,

in Germany showed that AfD had fallen 4 points as infighting among members of the party created some uncertainty. The polls marked the first time in a year that the party's popularity was below the 5 point benchmark needed to earn a place in parliament.

Many believe that the EU's refusal to back down from Greece's demands has weakened support for parties that want to push back against a country's membership in the eurozone. Not only has Syriza's agenda put Greece into a precarious financial position, but the nation looks unlikely to talk its way out without implementing the budget cuts Tsipras promised to reverse.