Greek politicians suffer backlash to austerity Greece was facing a "political earthquake" last night, analysts said, after early results in Sunday's general election showed a surprise collapse of its two biggest parties. "There is a whole generational shift happening in just one night," said one political analyst who declined to be named because he was so shocked by the result. The results plunged both the centre-right New Democracy and PanHellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok) into turmoil, as the two pro-European parties had counted on winning more than 40 per cent of the vote and resuming their previous partnership in a stable coalition government. With about 40 per cent of the votes counted, the two parties were together set to win 155-160 seats in the 300-member parliament - too fragile a majority to ensure Greece's second €174bn bailout programme can be implemented. The IMF has already warned that it would be unwilling to release its first quarterly aid payment due this summer if the government does not implement scores of new reforms pledged when the bail-out was agreed in February. Antonis Samaras, the New Democracy leader, on Sunday night backed a proposal by Evangelos Venizelos, his Pasok counterpart, to form a national unity government that would push through a €5.5bn package of cuts next month. But Pasok has suffered a heavy blow and could see defections after being pushed into third place at the election, behind New Democracy and Syriza, a leftwing party that has tripled its support since the last election in 2009 As votes were counted late into the night, voters appeared to have punished both New Democracy and Pasok, which have taken turns at governing Greece since the fall of the military junta in 1974, for plunging the country into the deepest recession in memory, reducing incomes by an average of 30 per cent. The left coalition Syriza has picked up many votes from angry young Greeks who fear they will become a lost generation, forced to emigrate to find jobs because of record unemployment rates that have reached almost 51 per cent for entrants to the workforce. Alexis Tsipras, its 38-year-old leader, has played on voters" frustration with the two big parties" acceptance of harsh reforms mandated by the European Union and International Monetary Fund, calling for an outright rejection of the latest bail-out programme. Syriza was poised to take first place in the "Athens B" constituency covering a swathe of middle and low-income districts around the city centre with some 1.2m voters - more than 12 per cent of the national total. These areas have seen the biggest fall in incomes during more than four years of recession. Its aggressive activism, with party members clashing violently with rival leftists at street protests and a yoghurt-throwing campaign targeting mainstream politicians, has more in common with old-fashioned student politics than normal parliamentary practice, say critics. "Syriza has made its gains by lining up with popular forces that resist structural changes that the two big parties are advocating as the price of avoiding bankruptcy," said Takis Michas, a political commentator. "Its policies, whether opposing the modernisation of universities or threatening to halt payments on Greece's debt, appeal to the young but also to others who have been hard hit by recession," Mr Michas added. On the campaign trail, Mr Tsipras called for leftwing Greek political parties to join forces under his leadership to form an anti-bailout coalition, even though it would not have sufficient voter support to form a government. His proposal was turned down immediately by the Greek Communist party, which appeared set to win 7.5 per cent to 9.5 per cent of the vote, but could be reconsidered if, as now expected, Syriza is given its turn at trying to form a government.