I've been around campaigning and missed all the fun here but yes, SYRIZA is the mainstream GUE/NGL party and it looks now that it will only elect 1 member of parliament, KKE which is kind of sui generis, pretty much a soviet type stalinist party, yet includes itself in GUE/NGL, will elect two, and the Green Party will elect one. So its GUE 3, Greens 1 from Greece, and 8 for PES and the Conservatives. The triumphant LAOS, extreme rightists I have no clue where they might be heading, but I wouldn't be surprised if they headed where Fini is, he seems to be a role model for bringing the party into respectability - but it's more the Lega Norde type.

Abstention here reached record levels, around 38%, (officially it's close to 50% but that's artificial), since the elections fell on a three-day weekend, sunny and hot, the first chance for a decent summer break. The numbers aren't out yet but probably less than half of the 18-35 age group showed up to vote. This age group's no-show was a disaster for SYRIZA and the Greens, both of which expected better results (and being immersed over the past few weeks in the SYRIZA campaign, I can tell you that despite the small increase from 2004, the mood was desolate).

The Far-right thing is really worrying, there is a huge anti-immigrant backlash in the country, especially in Athens and this result turns the whole thing into a major issue. LAOS was the biggest far-right party, but if you add them, wit various small nationalist and fascist groups, they add up to 9%. 0.5% went to a nazi group. These are real nazis with funny salutes and deadly violent, showing up in various neighbourhoods and playing police: basically beating up immigrants.

The socialists were 4,5 points ahead of New Democracy, the ruling conservatives, which is decent for them and might possibly lead to early elections in October, or certainly March. I hope the weather is uninspiring when this happens.

The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom - William Blake