Left-wing party Syriza, which has vowed to cancel austerity measures and renegotiate an international bailout, is leading polls ahead of Sunday's gene
ADVERTISEMENTWith the countdown well underway to Greece’s election on Sunday, expected to be won by the anti-bailout Syriza party, our Athens correspondent Stamatis Giannisis gives an insight into the pre-election mood.
Eleni Rizopoulou, euronews: “With four days to go until perhaps the most crucial election of recent years in the country, Syriza looks to be consolidating its lead. What is the mood on the streets of Athens?”
Stamatis Giannisis, euronews correspondent in Athens: “Unlike the heated political debate between the parties, everyday life appears to be normal. People are in a wait-and-see state of mind, anticipating the opening of the ballot boxes on Sunday evening to find out how the party of their choice performed. As for the polls, left-wing party Syriza is ahead in all of them. I think the real question is whether Syriza can obtain an overall majority that will enable it to form a government of its own, or whether it will have to seek alliances with other parties to form a ruling coalition. In any case, that is something we won’t know until perhaps the early hours of Monday morning.”
euronews: “The ‘don’t knows’ account for around 10 percent of the electorate and the last big rallies held by the main parties focus mostly on them. How can that 10 percent affect the election results on Sunday?”
Stamatis Giannisis: “The two main contenders as well as the smaller parties are focussing on undecided voters as that critical 10 percent may mean a lot to everyone. For New Democracy it could mean a marginal victory, for Syriza the much desired overall majority. No-one knows yet whether, within that 10 percent, there are enough voters to put the far-right Golden Dawn Party into third place or whether it could open the doors of parliament to smaller parties like the right-wing Independent Greeks or the centre-left Social Democrat Movement – as both these parties appear very close to the required 3 percent threshold. But of course, we will have to wait for the ballot boxes to be opened on Sunday evening.”