Greece prepares for another election

Greece’s conservative New Democracy party has a lead of 1.4 percentage points over the leftist Syriza party ahead of a national election on Sunday, a Metrisi poll for the Eleftheros Typos newspaper showed on Friday.

The latest poll from the University of Macedonia shows New Democracy on 30 percent of the vote, Syriza with 29.5 percent, ultra-right wing Golden Dawn on 5.5 percent, Pasok, which has seen its vote share nearly wiped out by Syriza, at 5 percent, centrist Potami at 5 percent and Syriza breakaway group Popular Unity at 3 percent. This would determine how willing will the new government be in implementing the terms attached to its 86 billion euro ($97 billion) bailout, Michaelides said.

Given that Greece’s compliance with the bailout programme is at issue, many at European Union headquarters in Brussels and in other European capitals would like to see a broad coalition emerge from the election.

Elected on an anti-bailout platform in January, Tsipras eventually led Greece into a deal with worldwide creditors on a third financial rescue.

Neither party, however, is expected to get the proportion of the vote needed – roughly 38 per cent – to gain a majority in the 300-seat parliament, meaning a coalition is a near certainty.

“What I’m saying is that a government will be formed”.

With so much at stake, technical competence in completing the so-called prior-actions of the program, is essential, the official added.

People in Greece are getting ready to take part in yet another general election – the fifth in just six years.

A total of 19 parties and party coalitions are set to battle it out in the vote.

Tsipras will speak at his final campaign rally in Athens’ main Syntagma Square later Friday, an event due to be attended by Pablo Iglesias, leader of the Spanish leftwing party Podemos. “Even a bad scenario will probably be good-enough for investors in the grand scheme of things”.