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Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses.

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Syriza to Win Greek Elections but with Most Voters as Undecided

August 28, 2015 

 

Former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' leaving the Syriza Party headquarters Veteran Greek leftist Panagiotis Lafazanis, who parted ways with his old comrade Alexis Tsipras on Friday, founding a new party dedicated to finishing off the country's bailout

 

Electoral poll shows major indecision amongst Greek voters

SYRIZA's lead over New Democracy is dwindling while Alexis Tsipras remains the most popular political leader

Friday, August 28, 2015

http://www.tovima.gr/en/article/?aid=732597

The Greek electorate appears to have been surprised by the announcement of general elections in September, with a survey showing that the majority of voters are undecided, while SYRIZA’s lead over New Democracy is dwindling.

According to the survey carried out by ProRata and which was published in the Efimerida ton Syntakton newspaper, when asked about who intend to vote for in the upcoming elections, the respondents answered the following:

Undecided – 25.5%

SYRIZA – 23%

New Democracy – 19.5%

Golden Dawn – 6.5% KKE – 5%

PASOK – 4.5% The River – 4%

Popular Union – 3.5%

Union of Centrists – 3%

Independent Greeks – 2%

The president of SYRIZA Alexis Tsipras remains the most popular political leader, followed by New Democracy’s provisional president Evangelos Meimarakis and the head of the River Stavros Theodorakis.  The overwhelming majority of voters support the euro and over 50% do not consider the new bailout agreement to be good.

survey,ProRata,Efimerida Ton Syntakton,SYRIZA,New Democracy,Golden Dawn,PASOK,The River,KKE,Popular Union,Union of Centrists,ANEL

 

Greece's Syriza to win election but face setback, poll shows

Fri Aug 28, 2015 4:43am EDT

ATHENS | By George Georgiopoulos

Former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' leftist Syriza will emerge as the biggest party after next month's election but without the sizeable margin it was hoping for, the first major opinion poll since he resigned last week showed.

The poll also found that almost two thirds of voters felt Tsipras should not have sought a fresh mandate and that his favored coalition ally would not make it into parliament, suggesting his gamble to call early elections to consolidate his power base could backfire.

Syriza was supported by 23 percent of those polled, with the conservative New Democracy party second on 19.5 percent, according to the survey, carried out by pollsters ProRata and published in Friday's Efimerida Ton Syntakton newspaper.

The previous ProRata poll in early July showed a wider gap in Syriza's favor, putting the party on 26 percent compared with 15 percent for New Democracy.

Based on the survey, 64 percent of Greeks believe Tsipras's move to call snap polls was wrong, while 68 percent agreed that Greece must stay in the euro zone at any cost, even if that meant further austerity.

"The answers to these two questions lead to the conclusion that early elections may cost the (former) prime minister and Syriza," the newspaper said.

Early elections are expected on Sept. 20, a date the president is likely to confirm later on Friday after a caretaker government is sworn in.

Tsipras abruptly resigned last week days after clinching an 86 billion euro ($97.2 billion) bailout package from European and International Monetary Fund lenders, hoping to crush a rebellion by far-left lawmakers and tighten his grip on power.

Popular Unity, the party formed last week by Syriza rebels who oppose the bailout, was backed by 3.5 percent in Friday's poll - just above the 3 percent threshold needed to enter parliament.

But the Independent Greeks, the ally in Tsipras' former coalition government, scored just 2 percent, meaning Syriza would be forced to seek another coalition partner.

Tsipras this week ruled out cooperating with the main pro-euro opposition parties - New Democracy, the Socialist PASOK and the centrist To Potami. The poll's result suggested that, in that event, the country would face a second round of elections.

One third of those who supported Tsipras' party in the January 2015 elections that took him into office said they were unsure if they will do so again, the poll said.

It also showed 25.5 percent of voters were still undecided, making them the biggest bloc.

(Writing by Deepa Babington; editing by John Stonestreet)

 

Veteran Greek leftist parts ways with Tsipras

Fri Aug 21, 2015 10:44am EDT

ATHENS | By Karolina Tagaris and David Stamp

Veteran Greek leftist Panagiotis Lafazanis parted ways with his old comrade Alexis Tsipras on Friday, founding a new party dedicated to finishing off the country's bailout before the bailout finishes off the country.

Lafazanis has led a group of dissident lawmakers in splitting from the outgoing prime minister's Syriza party to contest a snap election which is expected next month.

With a founding membership of 25 lawmakers, the Popular Unity party immediately becomes the third biggest force in parliament behind the dominant Syriza and conservative opposition New Democracy.

Lafazanis, a 63-year-old mathematician who cut his political teeth in the struggle to oust Greece's military rulers four decades ago, said Popular Unity aimed to restore wages and pensions cut during five years of austerity policies demanded by Greece's foreign creditors.

It would also reject new taxes and support nationalizing the banks, producing a strong investment plan and redistributing wealth in the country.

On top of all that, Greece's huge debt burden has to be eased. "The country cannot breathe and stand on its feet unless a big part of the debt is canceled," he told a news conference to launch the party.

Tsipras resigned on Thursday after the Syriza rebels refused to back the new bailout program, forcing him to rely on the opposition to get the legislation through parliament last week.

Faced with a national financial collapse, Tsipras had to agree to impose a new wave of austerity and reform policies to secure the 86 billion euros ($97 billion) in bailout loans, soon after Greeks had overwhelmingly rejected a previous offer from the euro zone and IMF in a referendum.

So far, the 25 lawmakers are dwarfed by Syriza's parliamentary group, which numbered 149 in the 300 seat chamber before the split.

REFERENDUM GUIDE

Opinion polls have yet to show how much support Popular Unity commands but Lafazanis said the referendum result would be a good guide.

"We will continue to express the spirit and substance of the 62 percent who voted 'no' to bailouts and a big 'yes' to an independent, sovereign, progressive and just Greece," he said.

Greece suffered a depression under policies dictated by the creditors, with a quarter wiped off economic output leaving one in four workers without a job.

"The country cannot take more bailouts. We will either finish off the bailouts, or the bailouts will finish off Greece and the Greek people," said Lafazanis.

Bespectacled and bearded, Lafazanis was never one of Tsipras's closest colleagues. However, he got the energy portfolio as the prime minister tried to balance the various factions after Syriza's dominant election victory in January - a job he held until his dismissal last month for rebelling.

While Lafazanis is more than 20 years older than Tsipras, they have had similar careers in left-wing politics. Both emerged from the Communist Party to join Synaspismos - Lafazanis was a founding member - a party which eventually merged into Syriza, a coalition of the radical left.

Lafazanis was first elected to parliament in 2000, but his activism goes back to the student struggle against the military junta that ruled Greece from 1967 till its overthrow and the restoration of democracy in 1974.

Lafazanis described the new party as the "last consistently anti-bailout voice". In fact it shares this distinction with the Communist KKE party and Golden Dawn, an ultra-right group. Neither is he alone in seeking debt relief, a cause championed even by the IMF.

Ironically, his wish to take the banks out of private hands has taken a step toward fulfillment under the bailout programs. Following recapitalization, private shareholders hold only minority stakes in three of the four major lenders.

The Hellenic Financial Stability Fund, an independent body, is expected to end up with controlling stakes in all four once another recapitalization is carried out under the new bailout by the end of the year. The aim however, is to return the banks eventually to the private sector.

(additional reporting by George Georgiopoulos; writing by David Stamp; editing by Giles Elgood)

 

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