Greek conservative party pulls ahead of leftist Syriza

For the past 23 years, it was a giggle-inducing minnow that derived cult status from its leader’s late-night rants on his own marginal TV station.

“When I speak to voters, they say “he tried”, they understand he struggled”, she said.

The most unfortunate truth about this situation is that, just like their creditors, the Greeks continue to repeat the same mistakes.

Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras resigned as prime minister and called the snap election last month after reaching an agreement with eurozone creditors for a third bailout that triggered a split within his party.

New Democracy has been keen to highlight perceived credibility issues under Syriza, which swept to power in January on the promise of ridding the country of bailouts, only to agree to new stringent austerity terms six months later.

Opinion polls published on the final day of campaigning in Greece suggest the left-wing Syriza party and conservative New Democracy are in a dead heat before tomorrow’s election. It’s polling around 7 percent but is likely to get more: Supporters of such parties often don’t tell poll- takers the truth about how they intend to vote. Tsipras has stated repeatedly that he is happy with having the Independent Greeks as government partners, but has expressed deep discontent over those to the left of him that left Syriza as a result of his surrender to austerity. Why the new polls and a new vote so soon after the last round?

Putting Economy First: The End Of Anti-Austerity?

The leftists are accused of brinkmanship in negotiations with EU creditors that prompted the European Central Bank to hold back support for Greek banks, forcing Athens to impose capital controls that are still keenly felt in the economy.

Unemployment dipped slightly in September to 24.6 percent, the Associated Press reported Thursday. Following its decision to support an agreement it had always rejected, to the point of calling a referendum in July, Syriza lost voters and a considerable part of its members who ended up establishing a new party, the Popular Union. The country’s tremendously large privatisation programme would be a huge millstone even for a centre-right government, let alone for a party like Syriza. Tsipras had vowed to do away with that particular tax, but he reneged on that promise as well, so a good chunk of the conservative voting bloc is now returning to its political home. As the process was repeated, fewer and fewer people agreed to contribute, understanding that others would enjoy the benefits of the project without paying for it. In a second experiment, it was possible to punish those who didn’t pay.

At the same time, Syriza’s splinter group, the Popular Unity, an anti-bailout force that advocates a return to the drachma and exit from the eurozone, may barely clear the 3 percent vote hurdle to sneak into parliament. The party’s anti-immigration stance has also resonated increasingly with exasperated Greeks who are at the center of an ongoing refugee crisis.

The lackluster campaign has been compounded by the realities of the choice Greeks are faced with.

This first “bailout review” was due to be carried out in October, but is likely to be set back should the elections give way to a prolonged period of coalition talks.

Greece’s newly minted emergency aid package doesn’t seem to be in immediate danger, considering relatively pro-bailout parties are expected to get 65 to 70 percent of the vote, according to Reuters.

Citizens and analysts alike have called for stability above all.

“If they are not in government, I would have thought that the party will go through a lot of blood-letting and rancour”, Weatherstone says.

Greek officials this summer managed to negotiate the country’s third internationally funded government bailout since 2010 – a $96 billion deal that came with a series of unpopular austerity measures restricting government spending and cutting social assistance programs for Greek citizens.