The crisis in Greece
may no longer have the power to shake the eurozone to its financial
foundations, but it still has the ability to cause considerable political concern.
The calculation is
simple - if the Greek parliament fails to elect the country's next president
before the end of this year, a snap general election will be held in late
January or early February. And Syriza, the radical left wing opposition
coalition, is favorite to win.
Plots and machinations
On Wednesday evening
in Athens after a day of driving rain, only 160 Greek MPs voted for the
government's presidential candidate, Stavros Dimas, in the first of three
rounds of voting in parliament.
The final round will
take place on 29 December and the government has less than two weeks to find
the additional 20 votes it needs.
There will be plenty
of plots and machinations ahead. There is already talk of a different
presidential candidate - perhaps someone from the left. Even so, the betting is
that the government will struggle to succeed.
'Blackmailed'
Prime Minister Antonis
Samaras is still trying to sound bullish, though. "The conditions are
difficult for the country," he said after the votes were counted in
parliament. "I'm sure that MPs know this is no time for adventures."
But other senior
politicians said the number of votes cast for Mr Dimas was lower than expected,
and Syriza's leader Alexis Tsipras struck a confident tone.
"The government's
strategy of fear has failed," he declared. "Democracy cannot be
blackmailed." The prime minister and his allies have warned that a Syriza
election victory would be a dangerous gamble that Greece cannot afford.
Syriza wants to bring
austerity to an abrupt end and write off a significant chunk of Greece's
international debt.
It has a small but
consistent lead in the opinion polls - drawing support from people who believe
they have suffered enough after five years of unprecedented economic
contraction.
'Radical transformation'
A few hours before the
first presidential vote took place, several hundred public sector workers
marched on parliament with banners and slogans held aloft. Many of them will
campaign for a Syriza victory whenever elections come.
"I would like to
see a radical transformation," said Chrysoula Papadopoulou, a teacher who
lost her job last year. "We want to live as human beings, and to see our
society change. It's bleeding now." Syriza argues that if it were to come
to power it would be able to negotiate with Greece's international creditors
from a position of strength and democratic legitimacy.
But other political
leaders here believe it would be in for a rude awakening. They are telling voters
that choosing Syriza would put Greece at risk of being forced out of the
eurozone. "We're going to see this situation played out in fast
forward," said Professor Platon Tinios from Piraeus University.
"The real danger
is time - would the markets give us the time that parties such as Syriza would
need to adapt?" There is a huge amount at stake, and it is hardly
surprising that political tensions are high. But is the rest of the EU really
immune from the specter of instability in Athens?
In a financial sense
the answer is probably "yes". What is happening in Greece, though, is
that people are blaming the political system for their economic woes. It is a
de-legitimization of government. And that is something that could still spread
to other countries in Europe.
(Πηγή: bbc.com)
