Greece's new prime minister and leader of the far-left Syiraz alliance Alexis Tsipras says that his party's victory will mark the start of a movement towards the left across Europe. He thinks that Ireland will be one of the first countries to follow the Greeks by electing an anti-austerity government.
Speaking in Athens last night he made the prediction that: “On 25 January, we started a new era, and the victory of Syriza will be followed by the Spanish people electing Podemos and United Left, and next year, in Ireland, with Sinn Féin.”
Sinn Féin have been vocal supporters of the party - they even took Alexis Tsipras on a tour of part of north-Dublin to meet with community leaders to discuss the effects of austerity in the city in March 2014.
Councillor Larry O'Toole and Alexis Tsipras in Darndale, Dublin, An Phoblacht
During that visit he spoke to An Phoblacht, saying: "Austerity deteriorates everything. In Greece we are facing a humanitarian crisis after six years of recession. Here in Ireland, as in Greece, many young people emigrate to find a better future."
Both parties have been accused of employing populism to gain support on the back of policies that are unworkable when actually facing the responsibility of running a country.
Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast, Sinn Féin's finance spokesman Pearse Doherty conceded that "Greece is different" to Ireland -and that it is facing a different set of challenges.
The Irish government parties are set to sell a 'recovery' narrative to the electorate heading into the next General Election.
Ireland's growth figures are inflated by activities like contract manufacturing, meaning that as much as 2.5% of the increase in Ireland's GDP is artificial, employment and consumption figures are heading the right direction.
Against a 'recovery' backdrop, Sinn Féin faces an extra challenge to translate its recent popularity into actual seats. Already in yesterday's (January 25th) Red C poll in the Sunday Business Post, the party saw a significant drop in support, falling from 24 to 20 percent.
It is likely that Syriza will have been in power for over a year by the time that Irish voters take to the polls. If they have successfully cut the country's debt, successfully introduced social reforms, and successfully brought in a new and functioning taxation system, they will surely be held up as a blueprint for left-wing governments in Ireland and in other European countries.
If, on the other hand, the new Greek government either backs down, or fails to negotiate a debt agreement that it can accept and leaves/gets thrown out of the euro zone - starting a new wave of economic turmoil - the party could quickly become a cautionary tale.
Can Sinn Féin be the next Syriza? That really depends on what Syriza turns out to be once it takes power - and that is something that we will learn in the coming months.
It's unclear whether 'being the next Syriza' will be a good thing or a bad thing by the time that Ireland goes to the polls.
