Syriza lead widens as Greeks go to the polls
THESSALONIKI, GREECE - JANUARY 25: A left-wing Syriza party vote inside a voting envelope is pictured on January 25, 2015 in Thessaloniki, Greece. According to the latest opinion polls, the left-wing Syriza party are poised to defeat Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' conservative New Democracy party in the election, which will taking place today. European leaders fear that Greece could abandon the Euro, write off some of its national debt and put an end to the country's austerity by renegotiating the terms of its bailout if the radical Syriza party comes to power. Greece's potential withdrawal from the eurozone has become known as the 'Grexit'. (Photo by Vladimir Rys Photography via Getty Images)©Getty
Greeks are voting in a snap election that the anti-bailout Syriza party is tipped to win, putting Athens on a potential collision course with its international lenders.
The mood appeared to be cheerful as voters crowded outside polling stations in the city centre on a mild sunny morning, with lively political discussions taking place in nearby cafés.
“It’s time to try something different . . . After so many years of austerity I don’t feel there’s anything left to lose,” said Maria Paterakis, a 73-year-old pensioner who voted for Syriza.
Two opinion polls published on Saturday showed the radical leftwing Syriza, led by Alexis Tsipras, widening its lead over the centre-right New Democracy party of Antonis Samaras, the prime minister, from around 4 per cent to over 6 per cent in the run-up to the vote. A third opinion poll gave the far-left party a 5.3 per cent lead.
A victory would make Syriza the first of Europe’s populist movements to win power following a devastating economic crisis.
In an interview published on Saturday, Mr Tsipras said Greece’s economy “would be safe in Syriza’s hands”, adding that a Syriza government’s first priority would be to launch a €2bn welfare package to assist an estimated 35 per cent of the population living in poverty.
Antonis Samaras, the prime minister, attacked his opponents in his final campaign rally, saying: “Greece’s sacrifices are coming to an end and the issue of debt will soon be resolved . . . But a Syriza government would create new deficits prompting another “memorandum” (the Greek term for the country’s €245bn bailout programme).”
That message resonated with Rovertos Kastrioti, a mechanic. “I’m afraid of an economic collapse here if the left wins power,” said Mr Kastrioti, who migrated from Albania two decades ago and now holds Greek citizenship. “I support New Democracy but many Greeks I work with are voting for Syriza.”
Despite its widening lead in the polls, it was still unclear on Sunday whether Syriza could achieve an outright majority as the final distribution of seats under Greece’s proportional voting system will depend on how many parties exceed the 3 per cent of the vote threshold for entering parliament.
Two small parties, the rightwing Independent Greeks (Anel), and the Movement of Democratic Socialists, a new party founded by former premier George Papandreou, were not expected to beat the threshold. But they gained ground in the final days of campaigning and could make the cut, one pollster said.
“The more parties in parliament, the more likely it is that Syriza will fall a few seats short of an overall majority,” said Costas Iordanides, a veteran political commentator.
Mr Tsipras would not lack possible coalition partners: both Panos Kammenos, the Anel leader, and Mr Papandreou have expressed willingness to co-operate with a Syriza government.
The leaders of two slightly larger parties, the centre-left To Potami (The River) and the PanHellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok) that are certain to be represented in the 300-member parliament have already offered conditional backing for Syriza.
To Potami, led by Stavros Theodorakis, is set to take third place with 5-6 per cent of the vote, according to most opinion polls.
Yet some observers believe that the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, whose leaders are running for parliament from jail where they are await trial for running a criminal organisation, could overtake To Potami as it did in the European elections last May.
“It seems likely that a ‘silent vote’ will push Golden Dawn into third place . . . that means they would receive a mandate to form a government if it’s a hung election — something that would be a disgrace for Greek democracy,” said Aristides Hatzis, an Athens university law professor.