National elections in Greece are to be held on January 25. Conditions in the country are still awful, with unemployment rates hovering around 25 percent and wages down 30 percent since austerity measures were introduced in 2010. There’s even talk of another three billion dollar cut to pensions. It’s no wonder that the Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza) looks destined to emerge from the contest as the top party.

As the elections draw nearer, the agents of austerity have warned Greek voters of the horrible consequences of a Syriza victory. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras pleaded that if his party (New Democracy) is defeated, there would be a “relapse into the deepest and most dramatic crisis.” German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble cautioned that there was “no alternative” to austerity policies and that he would not renegotiate existing measures and agreements.

An Angela Merkel confidant and member of the German parliament, Michael Fuchs, even went as far as to claim that Greece was now expendable and could be easily kicked out of the eurozone should Syriza take power: “The times where we had to rescue Greece are over. There is no potential for political blackmail anymore. Greece is no longer of systemic importance for the euro.”