Greece’s Conservative Party in Disarray

ATHENS-Greece’s conservative party, New Democracy, is in disarray after the cancellation of its leadership election on Sunday, leaving the government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras without serious opposition at a critical juncture in the country’s debt crisis.

   The country’s main opposition party had to call off its election because of software problems in many polling stations. Since then, the four leadership contenders and other prominent party officials have traded accusations about the mismanaged event. The party’s leader Vagelis Meimarakis stepped down on Tuesday.

   New Democracy is the main challenger to Mr. Tsipras’s left-wing Syriza party, which has governed Greece for most of the year. The conservatives were in power from mid-2012 until January, but have lost two successive elections to Syriza this year.

   The party had almost two months to prepare for Sunday’s elections, which were scheduled only weeks after Greece managed to organize and hold a national referendum in just a week. The party will now make a fresh attempt to hold its leadership election, most likely on Dec. 13.

   “There are many accumulated problems that have come home to roost,” said John Loulis, a political analyst at Athens-based communications consultancy STR. “This whole process has proved that the party is sickly and it will come out even more wounded.”

   Many analysts fear that if New Democracy doesn’t overcome this crisis quickly, the party could split into a populist right-wing faction and a more moderate centrist one. The party’s infighting come as the Greek government is in the middle of another round of critical negotiations with its international creditors.

   The Syriza-led government led won a vote on another set of economic overhauls in the Greek parliament last week with a reduced majority of just three seats. The hurdles that lie ahead, such as pension reform, privatizations and yet another round of tax rises, look even more difficult for the government to overcome.

   Greece also finds itself in the middle of Europe’s migration and refugee crisis, as most of the asylum seekers pouring across the Aegean Sea land first on Greek islands before heading to Europe’s more affluent northern countries.

   If security fears after the Paris terrorist attacks lead to a lasting closure of national borders in Western and Central Europe, the result could be a rapid buildup of migrants in Greece, which lacks resources to accommodate them-especially as winter approaches.

   Mr. Tsipras appealed on Friday for a “minimum of political consensus” on such crucial issues as the refugee crisis and pension reform.

   According to government officials, Mr. Tsipras is considering calling a party leaders’ meeting or forming bipartisan committees that would try to reach some consensus on those issues. The conservative party will only be represented by Yiannis Plakiotakis - the interim leader appointed on Tuesday - during a parliamentary debate on the 2016 budget, which will be voted on Dec. 5.

   “The crisis in the country’s opposition comes at a time when the country needs some sort of collusion,” Mr. Loulis said. Mr. Meimarakis is still a candidate for the position of party chief, alongside former ministers Adonis Georgiadis and Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Central Macedonia governor Apostolos Tzitzicostas.

   Ahead of the electorate battle and to attract the support of their party’s voters, all the candidates have turned to a confrontational approach, making any possible concession even more unlikely. Whoever ends up leading New Democracy will face the challenge of reviving a party that some insiders say has lost its way since failing to steer the country out of its crisis in 2014.

Πηγή: wsj.com