Greece just completed one of its shortest electoral campaign periods which — for the first time since 1964 — occurred right after the winter holidays. The polarized climate was coupled with the resounding absence of any concrete proposals for a wide array of issues such as pensions, public administration, national security and foreign policy — with the exception of Greece’s relationship with its creditors. Despite the single-issue campaign over Greece’s debt and its relationship with the Troika, the intentions of certain parties remain vague and even obscure. Parties instead invested in manipulating symbols and tapping into voters’ emotional world, including references to Greece’s civil war after World War II. This was expected given the conditions in the economy and the underlying cleavage in dispositions: on the one hand, the disillusionment, anger and need for change; on the other, a preference for stability and fear of the unknown.
The Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) has been consistently leading in the polls. The incumbent New Democracy (ND) appears still hopeful that the undecideds will side with it, but a reversal seems unlikely. To Potami(The River), at the center of the political spectrum, Golden Dawn, at the extreme right; the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK); and the Communist Party of Greece (ΚΚΕ) will all likely make it into the Parliament. Independent Hellenes (ANEL), an anti-memorandum right wing party, and the Movement of Democrat Socialists (KIDISO), founded by the former prime minister George Papandreou and son of PASOK’s founder, are polling close to the 3 percent threshold and may enter the Parliament, as well — though this appears more likely for ANEL. Finally, it is unlikely that Democratic Left-Greens and Popular Orthodox Rally (both junior coalition partners in the pro-memorandum governments from which they later defected from) will make it into the Parliament.
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Do not think think that the events happening in Europe will not have an impact here. As the world transfers their money into dollars and precious metals for safety, the price of the dollar on the world market impacts our exports and inflates our stock market. When the petrodollar collapses, you will see 40% of your wealth evaporate over the course of a few days as Europe’s Euro has collapsed.
David DeGerolamo
