Polls have opened for parliamentary election in Greece, the first since the country’s economy ceased to be subject to strict supervision and control by international lenders. Who had provided bailout funds during its nearly decade-long financial crisis.
The two main contenders in Sunday’s vote are conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, 55, a Harvard-educated former banking executive, and 48-year-old Alexis Tsipras. Heads the left-wing Syriza party and served as prime minister during some of the financial crisis’ most turbulent years.
Although Mitsotakis has been steadily ahead in Greece election opinion polls. A newly introduced electoral system of proportional representation makes it unlikely that whoever wins the election will be able to garner enough seats in Greece’s 300-member parliament to form a government without seeking coalition partners.
The winner of Sunday’s election will have three days to negotiate a coalition with one or more other parties. If that fails, the mandate to form a government is then given to the second party. But deep divisions between the two main parties and four smaller ones expected to enter parliament. Which mean a coalition will be hard to come by, making a second election likely on July 2.
The second election would be held under a new electoral law which makes it easier for a winning party to form a government by giving it a bonus of up to 50 seats in parliament. Calculated on a sliding scale depending on the percentage of votes won.
Coalition talks play vital role
A total of 32 parties are vying for votes, although opinion polls have indicated only six have a realistic chance of meeting the 3% threshold to gain seats in parliament.
Greece’s once-dominant socialist Pasok party is likely to be at the center of any coalition talks. Overtaken by Syriza during Greece’s 2009-2018 financial crisis, the party has been polling at around 10%. Its leader, Nikos Androulakis, 44, was at the center of a wiretapping scandal in which his phone was targeted for surveillance.
Pasok would be vital in any coalition deal, but Androulakis’ poor relationship with Mitsotakis. He accuses of covering up the wiretapping scandal, mean a deal with the conservatives is unlikely. His relationship with Tsipras is also poor, accusing him of trying to poach Pasok voters.
The far-right Greeks Party, founded by a jailed former lawmaker with a history of neo-Nazi activity, was banned from participating by the Supreme Court. His former party, Golden Dawn. Which rose to become Greece’s third largest during the financial crisis, was deemed to be a criminal organization.
Rail disaster in Greece
In the run-up to the election, Mitsotakis had enjoyed a double-digit lead in opinion polls. But saw that erode following a rail disaster on Feb. 28 that killed 57 people after an intercity passenger train was accidentally put on the same rail line as an oncoming freight train. It was later revealed that train stations were poorly staffed and safety infrastructure broken and outdated.
The government was also battered by a surveillance scandal in which prominent Greek politicians. Including Androulakis, and journalists discovered spyware on their phones. The prime minister said he had not been aware of the tapping of Androulakis’ phone. And that he wouldn’t have allowed it had he known. But the revelations deepened mistrust among the country’s political parties at a time when consensus may be badly needed.
Tsipras has campaigned heavily on the rail disaster and wiretapping scandal.