According to public-opinion polls from early October, the Socialists have continued to enjoy a solid lead of 6 to 14.5 percentage points over New Democracy.
But officials from both parties say that lead has shrunk in the past several weeks and is one factor that prompted Papandreou to raise the specter of snap national elections late last month--a move analysts say may have backfired.
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In the country's two major cities--Athens and Thessaloniki--New Democracy looks poised to retain its command of the local town halls, as well as the region of central Macedonia where the incumbent New Democracy candidate continues to enjoy strong support.
However, in other places, such as the Athens port of Piraeus and the city of Heraklion in Crete, the Socialists look favored to win. And in the all-important province of Attica--the region surrounding Athens and where almost half the Greek population lives--a local maverick is in the lead, but his Socialist opponent appears to be gaining ground and may force him to a second-round vote the following Sunday.
More significant, according to insiders at both parties, will be the overall vote totals on a national basis. People within the government say that they consider a 3% margin--tallied on a national basis--a victory.
"It's such a fluid election, with so many faces across Greece up for election, that it's really hard to predict, or even set a target on what would be a victory or defeat," said a New Democracy insider. "Both major parties will be looking at their percentages in the first round to judge how they are going."
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http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20101105-701017.htmlHopefully the Greeks have some Latvian in them, but needlessly promising to call a snap election at your weakest moment was the height of stupidity, IMO. PASOK should have been grateful there wasn't a national election this year, rather than deliberately shooting themselves in the foot. Sometimes, you can't be too convinced of your whom baloney, even if you are doing something 'heroic'.
