Athens News, The latest news from Greece

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Evangelos Venizelos seeks to halt the sharp decline in his party's fortunes

Fresh Elections Set for May 6th, PASOK to be devastated

Athens (Q2 2012) - In recent months, incumbent politicians across Europe have looked on at Greece as an example of what might be. Greece has been stuck in a recession for several years now, and it appears that there is no end in sight for the suffering of the Greek people. The governing PASOK party, which captured a plurality of the seats in Parliament, is set to place fifth if the elections were held today. Not since the foundation of the modern Hellenic Republic has the fortunes of PASOK looked so bleak. They have never been anything other than the first or second party in Greece - something which will be rapidly turned around at the next election.

When the deal creating the Grand Coalition in Greece was signed last November, it promised fresh elections in March of 2012, a year earlier than constitutionally required. However, this was later pushed back as further austerity measures were pushed through Parliament in March, paving the way for elections in late April. It is now April 4th, and the next elections have been scheduled for May 6th of this year. As it stands, there will be no majority among any one faction in Parliament, and all the major factions have their voting shares in the low to mid teens - this is likely to lead to instability.

The Current Polling:
PASOK - 11.3%
New Democracy - 20.1%
The Left (Communists, Radical Left, etc.) - 18.4%
The Right (Nationalists, etc.) - 22.1%, a Plurality of Parliament
Greens - 12.9%
Others - 15.2%

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Campaign rallies across the nation have occurred almost daily, as the election campaign begins to wrap up

Campaign Fever takes hold in Greece

Athens (Q2 2012) - It has only been a few weeks since campaigning began in earnest across Greece, and it seems that the election itself will not be volatile - the aftermath most certainly will. Polling has not changed by much since the campaign began, with the far right nationalists still set to capture the most seats in Parliament, however other parties have been hit hard. PASOK has once again been blamed entirely for the mismanagement of the government, and has seen its vote share decline even further. This election will have the lowest turnout in the Republic's history, with less than 15% of the voting populace saying that they will actually vote. What this means is that the actual election results could be quite chaotic and very different from what the polls suggest.

During the course of the past few weeks, the major parties have all made their manifestos for change clear to the people. PASOK has promised to fix the nation's economy - however it appears that few people actually believe that they can fix anything. New Democracy - the traditional opposition or governing party, has stated that they intend to continue austerity but also work on renegotiating the terms of the bailouts to help Greece better. The Far Left has promised a program of nationalization and communist ideals, and the Far Right has promised a withdrawal from the Eurozone, a default on all public debt, and a move towards securing the future of the nation.

The Current Polling:
PASOK - 7.3%
New Democracy - 24.0%
The Left (Communists, Radical Left, etc.) - 18.4%
The Right (Nationalists, etc.) - 24.1%, a Plurality of Parliament
Greens - 12.9%
Others - 13.2%

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Less than 20% of the people went to vote today in Greece

Election Over. New Democracy claims upset win

Athens (Q2 2012) - Just over a month after the elections were called, it appears that low voter turnout has helped New Democracy upstage the Far Right for the plurality in Parliament. New Democracy captured 26.4% of Parliament, with the Far Right taking 20.4%, the Far Left taking 18.4%, the Greens with 12.9%, PASOK with a mere 7.3% and the other 14.6% going to Other Parties.

This leaves New Democracy in a dominant position to form a coalition to govern Greece, albeit a shaky one. With the New Democracy chairman publicly stating that he would not negotiate with the Far Right, it means that any government involving New Democracy will have to include at least two other coalition partners - most likely the Far Left and the Greens.

The Final Results:
PASOK - 22 seats 107 seats
New Democracy - 79 seats 7 seats
The Left (Communists, Radical Left, etc.) - 55 seats 13 seats
The Right (Nationalists, etc.) - 61 seats 35 seats
Greens - 39 seats - 39 seats
Others - 44 seats - 19 seats

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The next Prime Minister of Greece - Antonis Samaras of New Democracy

Samaras to be PM, as New Democracy 'betrays roots'

Athens (Q3 2012) - In a move which was stunning even as it was expected, the next Prime Minister of Greece will be Antonis Samaris - the head of the largest party in Parliament, New Democracy. New Democracy secured 79 seats to secure a plurality in Parliament in May. Since then, there has been much instability in Greece as the main parties conducted coalition negotiations.

New Democracy was in the dominant position to be the governing party, but they had few options to go forward. The party had attacked the Far Right viciously during the election campaign, and both sides declared their intent to never form a government together. This left Greece's largest conservative party with no option but to negotiate with the Far Left and Independent MPs as they also refused to negotiate with PASOK. Today, just two days after the two month mark after the last elections, New Democracy announced the formation of the next government with a coalition deal with the Far Left. This has left many in the party calling for Samaras' resignation, as they claim that the party has betrayed the people and abandoned the roots. It is a situation similar to that of the United Kingdom after the previous general election when the Liberal Democrats seemingly betrayed their voters to join with the Conservative Party.

Although Samaras will be the next Prime Minister, few expect this government to survive to the next election. Fewer still expect this deal to work as the Communists are forced to work with the Conservatives.

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The logo of the new joined faction - the former symbol of the AN.EL

Far-Right Factions Unify into one party

Athens (Q3 2012) - Panos Kammenos, the leader of the Independent Greeks (AN.EL) has many reasons to be happy. Chief among them is the recent unification of the Far-Right parties into one, large party. In doing so, the former main Far-Right party - the Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) has been upstaged as the premiere far right force in Greece, especially as they are now in a formal alliance and merger with AN.EL and a few other, smaller far-right parties.

What this means is that the AN.EL formally is the Leader of the Opposition as they are the second largest party in Parliament with 61 seats. The new party has promised a withdrawal from Europe, and an end to the 'disastrous austerity' under the socialists, and undoubtedly under the Conservatives as well. Panos Kammenos has recently been caught talking about his support for a default on all Greek debt, and a withdrawal from the Eurozone. He has made no comment on the issue, which has left some analysts assuming that he does indeed support those measures, regardless of their popularity abroad.

Kammenos has promised the Greek people that, 'we no longer need to be held responsible for the crimes of the few wealthy individuals abroad in nations such as Germany and Spain who screwed up and are now demanding Greek blood for a crime which is not Greek.'

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Panos Kammenos - the leader of AN.EL has harshly attacked the new austerity budget

Austerity Budget announced in Greece

Athens (Q4 2012) - In the early hours of this bleak November morning, the members of the Greek Parliament passed the austerity budget for 2013. The 2012 budget has already cut $3 billion from government spending, and it appears that this will be carried over to the new budget.

The 2013 budget involves the slashing of an additional $1.5 billion from the national budget's government spending as well as additional tax rises corresponding to 0.5% of the GDP. This involves the laying off of an additional 30,000 governmental workers and the freezing of pay rises for the entire government.

This comes after weeks of wrangling among the governing parties. New Democracy and the Communists were at odds for quite some time with each blaming the other for delays in passing the budget. The opposition also strongly criticized the budget, with AN.EL leader Panos Kammenos harshly attacking the budget. In comments to a large crowd in central Athens he stated that; "the AN.EL will not support this budget. This is not the budget of the Hellenic Republic, but the budget of the German government in Greece. Why must our country pander to the rich bankers in other countries like Germany when they are doing fine and our people are starving? The majority of our public debt is held in countries like Germany and France - rich countries who are doing quite well at the moment. I detest this loss of sovereignty and national pride so that the rich foreigners can get richer, and the Greeks get poorer.

They say that we must do this in order to avoid a default. I ask all those who say that we cannot default - who are you to tell us what to do? The Greek Government must do what is right for the Greek people, and not for Europe. This government is elected to serve the Greek people, not the German Chancellor. So I tell the government this: Stop this Lap dog pandering."

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Several attacks thought to be for intimidation have been linked to the rise of a far-right militia

Unconfirmed Reports of Far-Right Militia

Athens (Q4 2012) - As winter drags on in Greece, there have been unconfirmed reports that a far-right militia is gathering organization and membership. Sources within the Interior Ministry point to an increase in intimidation of potential voters, as well as anyone left of center as well as the increase in the organization of these intimidation attacks.

Analysts suggest that this rise of a far-right militia could be the result of a power vacuum in the regions further away from Athens as many public service workers such as policemen and other such security professions have been laid off over the past few years. This has allowed the rise of petty crimes, as well as mafia-style rule in certain parts of the country. In Thessaloniki it appears that this far-right militia has a strong base of support in terms of membership as well as weaponry. So far, the militia has not targeted the government itself, but as the days go by some feel that it could one day be in a position to influence elections and the government. These same people feel that day is coming closer and closer.

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Large protests once again became the norm in Athens' city center, as fighting in the Governing Coalition brought the Government to a halt

Government barely survives confidence vote after weeks of intra-coalition fighting

Athens (Q1 2013) - After weeks of fighting erupted in the Governing Coalition, the Government was able to muster a pathetically thin majority in Parliament to win a vote of no confidence brought forth by an independent MP. The Vote of No Confidence was voted down by a vote of 152-120, with dozens of MPs abstaining. The main reason the government survived was the vote in favor of the government by PASOK - although the reasons have nothing to do with the stability of the government. Once again, it appears that if the elections were held today, PASOK would secure only 25 seats - a small 3 seat gain. However, any small gains by PASOK is expected to be erased by the harsh election campaign which would follow.

The AN.EL, the Far-Right Opposition party is currently set to capture a plurality in Parliament, with a few percent advantage against New Democracy in the polls. However, it seems that despite fierce fighting in the coalition, which has been draw out for several weeks, any such election has been held off for another day.

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The political fortunes of AN.EL and Panos Kammenos have been on an upswing for the past six months, with New Democracy and the Far Left hit the hardest in polling

Poll: AN.EL and Kammenos most popular in Greece

Athens (Q2 2013) - A recent poll carried out by the Athens Times has shown that the AN.EL and its leader Panos Kammenos are the most popular politicians in Greece. Although the word politician often carried a bad taste in many countries, it appears that this bad will has not hurt the AN.EL leader - especially given the current volatile situation in Greek politics. It appears that the paralysis which has affected the Greek government for various lengths and for various times throughout the current term.

If the General elections were held today, it is quite evident that AN.EL would win an outright majority in Parliament - the first to do so in many years. This is mainly due to the decline in polling numbers of several parties, among them the Communists, the Radical Left and New Democracy. The Far Left (the Communists and the Radical Left) had been promising to fight the austerity ever since the first austerity budget a few years ago. Yet, it appears to the public that these parties have betrayed their manifestos - as the current 2013 budget has massive $1.5 billion cuts in public spending, an outright violation of the campaign pledges of the Far Left. New Democracy - the main governing party, has been hit hard by governmental paralysis as well as the austerity budgets which had led to PASOK's rapid decline in the previous election. AN.EL on the other hand has enjoyed a large surge in popularity given its opposition to the austerity budgets as well as an opposition to the Eurozone in general. Current polls predict that it will capture 46% of the vote, with the general trend rising for the party. All in all, things are certainly looking bright for Panos Kammenos.

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It is once again budget time in Greece, and it seems that this year will be worse than usual

Will the Austerity Budget signal the demise of yet another government?

Athens (Q4 2013) - Every year for the last four, the austerity budget which is often announced has usually meant the demise, or loss of popularity of the incumbent government. It appears at first glance, that will repeat itself this year once more.

The governing New Democracy seems inclined towards slashing even more spending, and there are rumors going around the Greek Parliament that these cuts could amount to nearly four billion dollars in cuts - an unprecedented amount. With several independent MPs openly defecting from the government over the last few years - that puts this current government in a bad position going into these budget talks.

The opposition AN.EL has already indicated its vocal opposition to the budget - this is to be expected as they do want the current government to fall so they can get into power. At the current moment, they would control nearly 52% of Parliament, enough to form a government by themselves.