The election polls have closed 4 hours now and the results bring about 20 percent to the New Democracy Party, about 16 percent to the leftist Syriza Party, about 14 percent to the PanHellenic Socialist Party (a smashing defeat for their leader Venizelos); Panos Kamenos right wing party Independent Greeks is next followed by the Greek Communist Party KKE and the fascists, Hrisi Augi otherwise known as Golden Dawn.
These elections mark a smashing defeat for the two major parties since together they are still well under the necessary number of seats to form a government,as well as a decisive loss for the Greek communist party whose inability to form a policy in these troubled times,and severe lack of leadership place it a disappointing 5th.
The next couple of days may see the pro Europe parties uniting in order to ensure tranquility and a smooth transition towards government; counter to popular belief, Greece does not have a real separatist or anti Europe party aside from the populist blah blah. Most parties scream anti Euro slogans to win market share from the major parties, market share that comes from citizens disappointed that the old party client system doesn't doesn't function anymore. If push comes to shove, the first parties that will protest against any segregation from a united Europe and from the Euros are the parties that are screaming right now "drachma in, Euro out". This became evident during George Papandreou's proposal for a referendum a couple of months ago, when the first party to oppose it was the Communist party of Greece which also opposed the potato movement which brought potato prices down.
It should also be remembered that the original PASOK platform under Andreas Papandreou screamed for a Greece that would be out of NATO and the EU; this was before PASOK came to power in the 80s. When PASOK did come to power in the 80s, Andreas wisely moved Greece closer to the EU eventually permitting the full union of Prime minister Costas Simitis, a union that also included monetary union and the EURO.
These elections mark a smashing defeat for the two major parties since together they are still well under the necessary number of seats to form a government,as well as a decisive loss for the Greek communist party whose inability to form a policy in these troubled times,and severe lack of leadership place it a disappointing 5th.
The next couple of days may see the pro Europe parties uniting in order to ensure tranquility and a smooth transition towards government; counter to popular belief, Greece does not have a real separatist or anti Europe party aside from the populist blah blah. Most parties scream anti Euro slogans to win market share from the major parties, market share that comes from citizens disappointed that the old party client system doesn't doesn't function anymore. If push comes to shove, the first parties that will protest against any segregation from a united Europe and from the Euros are the parties that are screaming right now "drachma in, Euro out". This became evident during George Papandreou's proposal for a referendum a couple of months ago, when the first party to oppose it was the Communist party of Greece which also opposed the potato movement which brought potato prices down.
It should also be remembered that the original PASOK platform under Andreas Papandreou screamed for a Greece that would be out of NATO and the EU; this was before PASOK came to power in the 80s. When PASOK did come to power in the 80s, Andreas wisely moved Greece closer to the EU eventually permitting the full union of Prime minister Costas Simitis, a union that also included monetary union and the EURO.
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