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| Greek centre-right neck and neck with Syriza as snap election nears | |
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| The stage is set for one of the most exciting elections in recent Greek history after polls showed the former ruling leftwing party Syriza running neck and neck with the centre-right New Democracy party barely two weeks before the snap ballot. | The stage is set for one of the most exciting elections in recent Greek history after polls showed the former ruling leftwing party Syriza running neck and neck with the centre-right New Democracy party barely two weeks before the snap ballot. |
| Alexis Tsipras’s surprise move to tighten his grip on power, with what he had hoped would be a fresh mandate to implement spending cuts and reforms, is showing all the signs of having backfired. Diehard leftists, appalled by the anti-austerity movement’s spectacular U-turn, appear to be leaving Syriza in droves. | Alexis Tsipras’s surprise move to tighten his grip on power, with what he had hoped would be a fresh mandate to implement spending cuts and reforms, is showing all the signs of having backfired. Diehard leftists, appalled by the anti-austerity movement’s spectacular U-turn, appear to be leaving Syriza in droves. |
| “It is going to be a thriller, and that means that when the day comes no result can be excluded,” said Aristides Hatzis, a professor of law and economics and prominent political commentator. “More than 60% of the undecided are Syriza voters. They feel disappointed, disillusioned and betrayed.” | “It is going to be a thriller, and that means that when the day comes no result can be excluded,” said Aristides Hatzis, a professor of law and economics and prominent political commentator. “More than 60% of the undecided are Syriza voters. They feel disappointed, disillusioned and betrayed.” |
| Two opinion surveys published on Sunday depicted Syriza and New Democracy locked in a dead heat – a far cry from the walk in the park Tsipras envisaged when he called the vote days after signing up to the onerous terms of a third, €86bn (£63bn) rescue programme for the debt-stricken country. | Two opinion surveys published on Sunday depicted Syriza and New Democracy locked in a dead heat – a far cry from the walk in the park Tsipras envisaged when he called the vote days after signing up to the onerous terms of a third, €86bn (£63bn) rescue programme for the debt-stricken country. |
| Related: Alexis Tsipras is down but far from out | Related: Alexis Tsipras is down but far from out |
| A poll by Kapa Research reinforced mounting evidence that the leftists’ lead over the conservative opposition has not only shrunk but practically disappeared. Syriza came in at 26.5% – nearly 10 percentage points lower than its landslide win in January – compared to 25.9% for the conservatives. | A poll by Kapa Research reinforced mounting evidence that the leftists’ lead over the conservative opposition has not only shrunk but practically disappeared. Syriza came in at 26.5% – nearly 10 percentage points lower than its landslide win in January – compared to 25.9% for the conservatives. |
| A Marc poll published in the Ethnos newspaper put Syriza’s advantage over New Democracy at less than half a point. Vangelis Meimarakis, who became interim leader of New Democracy in July, has not only rallied old-time supporters with his down-to-earth style and pledge of cross-party collaboration but, according to Kapa Research, surpassed Tsipras in popularity. Not that long ago, Tsipras, the once firebrand leftwinger, had been unassailable. More than 77% told the polling company they believed there was still a danger of Greece being ejected from the eurozone. | A Marc poll published in the Ethnos newspaper put Syriza’s advantage over New Democracy at less than half a point. Vangelis Meimarakis, who became interim leader of New Democracy in July, has not only rallied old-time supporters with his down-to-earth style and pledge of cross-party collaboration but, according to Kapa Research, surpassed Tsipras in popularity. Not that long ago, Tsipras, the once firebrand leftwinger, had been unassailable. More than 77% told the polling company they believed there was still a danger of Greece being ejected from the eurozone. |
| “Tsipras’s decision to call the election has, to a great degree, backfired,” said Hatzis. Reflecting on the three bailouts Athens has received from the EU and International Monetary Fund, he added: “The political scene is very unstable, very fluid. No politician can predict the future or be certain of his or her approval ratings. A politician’s popularity can evaporate in a moment.” | “Tsipras’s decision to call the election has, to a great degree, backfired,” said Hatzis. Reflecting on the three bailouts Athens has received from the EU and International Monetary Fund, he added: “The political scene is very unstable, very fluid. No politician can predict the future or be certain of his or her approval ratings. A politician’s popularity can evaporate in a moment.” |
| At least 10% of Syriza’s support appears to have been lost to the anti-euro Popular Unity created by a group of 25 rebel MPs days after the Greek parliament endorsed the latest financial rescue package. | At least 10% of Syriza’s support appears to have been lost to the anti-euro Popular Unity created by a group of 25 rebel MPs days after the Greek parliament endorsed the latest financial rescue package. |
| Panagiotis Lafazanis, the erstwhile energy minister who leads Popular Unity, has accused Tsipras of accepting conditions that will turn Greece into a “debt colony” and Greeks “into slaves”. Syriza’s youth wing – which also broke ranks last week to denounce the party’s “strategic defeat” at the hands of creditors – has signalled that it will support the breakaway group. | Panagiotis Lafazanis, the erstwhile energy minister who leads Popular Unity, has accused Tsipras of accepting conditions that will turn Greece into a “debt colony” and Greeks “into slaves”. Syriza’s youth wing – which also broke ranks last week to denounce the party’s “strategic defeat” at the hands of creditors – has signalled that it will support the breakaway group. |
| Tsipras tried to make light of the polls and the likelihood of no political grouping clinching an absolute majority to form a government. He insisted that there were still enough undecided voters to yield a clear winner on the day. The spectre of a fractured result has raised fears of the eurozone’s weakest state being plunged into the sort of political uncertainty that could once again derail it economically. | Tsipras tried to make light of the polls and the likelihood of no political grouping clinching an absolute majority to form a government. He insisted that there were still enough undecided voters to yield a clear winner on the day. The spectre of a fractured result has raised fears of the eurozone’s weakest state being plunged into the sort of political uncertainty that could once again derail it economically. |
| “There are 15% to 20% undecided voters right now,” he told Skai television in an interview, insisting that the leftists would never cooperate with New Democracy or parties that had so assiduously enforced austerity. “In simple maths, this means that the party that will come first, if it doesn’t secure an outright majority in parliament, will be very close to it.” Under Greek law, the party to emerge victorious is automatically given a 50-seat bonus. | “There are 15% to 20% undecided voters right now,” he told Skai television in an interview, insisting that the leftists would never cooperate with New Democracy or parties that had so assiduously enforced austerity. “In simple maths, this means that the party that will come first, if it doesn’t secure an outright majority in parliament, will be very close to it.” Under Greek law, the party to emerge victorious is automatically given a 50-seat bonus. |
| The former prime minister is counting on his charisma swinging the electorate behind Syriza in the weeks ahead. The leftists are expected to play up the lower budget surpluses they secured in over five months of often fraught negotiations with foreign lenders. They are also likely to point to the prospect of debt relief on the horizon, after concerted efforts by the Syriza government to highlight the unmanageability of the country’s debt load. At 180% of gross domestic product, Greece is the most indebted member of the EU. | The former prime minister is counting on his charisma swinging the electorate behind Syriza in the weeks ahead. The leftists are expected to play up the lower budget surpluses they secured in over five months of often fraught negotiations with foreign lenders. They are also likely to point to the prospect of debt relief on the horizon, after concerted efforts by the Syriza government to highlight the unmanageability of the country’s debt load. At 180% of gross domestic product, Greece is the most indebted member of the EU. |
| But much will depend on the votes of young people, who continue to shoulder the worst effects of austerity, enduring unemployment at a record level of 50%. Many young Greeks feel particularly betrayed by Syriza’s volte-face after responding positively to Tsipras’s call to reject austerity in a referendum on 5 July. | But much will depend on the votes of young people, who continue to shoulder the worst effects of austerity, enduring unemployment at a record level of 50%. Many young Greeks feel particularly betrayed by Syriza’s volte-face after responding positively to Tsipras’s call to reject austerity in a referendum on 5 July. |