Greek election - January 25th 2015

[Phony Moderate]

It is on.

[Tender Branson]

So, Sweden off and Greece on ?

OK.

Hopefully SYRIZA (even if they come out on top) will be sidelined after the election.

The last thing Greece needs now is a leftist "experiment".

[politicus]

So, Sweden off and Greece on ?

OK.

Hopefully SYRIZA (even if they come out on top) will be sidelined after the election.

The last thing Greece needs now is a leftist "experiment".

Surprised you would say that.

[politicus]

Samaras says he will go to the President tomorrow and ask for parliament to be dissolved. That means elections will be held on January 25. You might as well add the date.

[Tender Branson]

So, Sweden off and Greece on ?

OK.

Hopefully SYRIZA (even if they come out on top) will be sidelined after the election.

The last thing Greece needs now is a leftist "experiment".

Surprised you would say that.

Not really.

A (far)-left government only works in stable societies (such as Thüringen, Brandenburg).

Establishing one in a country that just drove into a wall like Greece is a recipe for another catastrophe.

[politicus]

Interview with Syrizas chief economist (who is educated in Germany of all places..). Growth through stimulus of the purchasing power of lower income groups, but no financing through debt/no deficits. Those who can shall pay, so "tax the rich". Syriza are fiscal conservatives

http://www.thetoc.gr/eng/politics/article/yiannis-milios-syriza-will-not-run-deficits

[Tender Branson]

Interview with Syrizas chief economist (who is educated in Germany of all places..). Growth through stimulus of the purchasing power of lower income groups, but no financing through debt/no deficits. Those who can shall pay, so "tax the rich". Syriza are fiscal conservatives

http://www.thetoc.gr/eng/politics/article/yiannis-milios-syriza-will-not-run-deficits

Interesting. Thanks for the link. I might give them a shot after all, if they really follow these plans - even after the election and not just before it.

[Beezer]

Let's get this over with. A Syriza victory and government would maybe bring about some sort of resolution to this crisis either because of a Grexit or because the Greek left would forced to adopt a more centrist stance on the bailout and reforms, leading to a massive Syriza drubbing in the next election. An ND victory on the other hand would be more of the same for Greece and the eurozone.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I support Syriza (sane)

[Niemeyerite]

I support Syriza (sane)

[Zinneke]

ND will win. International market forces have too much to lose. People think the Truman doctrine is over. It isn't. They will use Merkel's threats to bully the Greek people into voting for ND. Just wait and see.

I agree that a leftist experiment in such a divided political society is not a great idea. But there's deep structural problems linked to paternalism, nepotism and corruption in Greece that can only be solved by radical change. I would favour a Syriza-Potami coalition but it will never happen. Too many people both inside and outside of Greece are profiting from the current system, and they tend to be the richest, most resourceful and less disenchanted about politics, so they will go out and vote.

It will be interesting to see who gathers the centre-left vote the most. At this stage it looks like To Potami will inherit most of PASOK's remaining voters that haven't gone to Syriza. Papandreou has come and said he will start his own party to rival the Olive Tree (aka PASOK) which sums up Greek politics. Lets take into account hypothetical collapses though, they could be crucial to Syriza's chances of success.

I imagine KKE will have enough loyal members to make sure they reach the 5-10 percentage points they can only hope for at this stage. That will also no doubt hurt Syriza.

[Simfan34]

I support Syriza (sane)

What?

[Franzl]

I obviously do not support SYRIZA, but I'm guessing they won't be the catastrophe they're made out to be. And I suppose even if they are, might as well get it over with.

[politicus]

Let's get this over with. A Syriza victory and government would maybe bring about some sort of resolution to this crisis either because of a Grexit or because the Greek left would forced to adopt a more centrist stance on the bailout and reforms, leading to a massive Syriza drubbing in the next election. An ND victory on the other hand would be more of the same for Greece and the eurozone.

That is pretty much how I view it. If Greece can be governed effectively and thoroughly reformed at all (and that is a big if) it must be from the left and Syriza has already prepared a moderation of policy positions in various ways. In reality they will likely pursue left-Social Democratic policies. If they are able to add a few creative community based solutions to that it will only be a bonus.

The main problem with continued ND governments is the lack of relevant and reliable coalition partners. Pasok are commiting suicide by continued collaboration, ANEL are useless and Golden Dawn a nigthmare. There are simply more constructive forces available on the left and a higher chance of a workable majority. Even if you gave ND the benfit of the doubt and said they may be able to reform Greece in their way and put an end to clientilism etc. (despite large parts of the party being rotten) it would as a minimum require an unlikely ND majority.

[Velasco]

I think editorialising is not a good start for an election thread. Said this, the traditional parties are rotten and current situation is unsustainable. It's obvious that Greece needs a change. While it's legitimate to be sceptic about that a new government could be able to improve the situation of the Greek people, Syriza deserves the benefit of the doubt... just like any other political force that aspires to win. I support a Syriza-Potami coalition and I hope that Merkel and Juncker won't succeed in their attempts to bully the Greek people. They have little to offer aside a prolongation of the agony.

[swl]

So it's happening. Exciting.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Most recent poll

[Barnes]

This should be an interesting one. 

Does anyone have figures on projected turnout according to polling? Turnout usually declines when there's a snap poll (Japan 2014), but with all of the hype and news making around this one I guess it could rev up interest.

[joevsimp]

Most recent poll

could someone help with the english names of the parties on the right hand side of the graph please?

[Bacon King]

The five on the right aren't parties, but "other", "undecided" and such

[justfollowingtheelections]

University of Texas Economics Professor James Galbraith sent the following message to Tsipras:

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[EPG]

Merkel must give Greeks free money and applaud far-left parties or she is a bully.

Really? We can do better than this.

[joevsimp]

The five on the right aren't parties, but "other", "undecided" and such

what's the green one on 1.2% next to Independent Greeks?

[Famous Mortimer]

Whatever happened to Social Agreement? Do they still exist?

[y]

The five on the right aren't parties, but "other", "undecided" and such

what's the green one on 1.2% next to Independent Greeks?

DIMAR

no, it's the ecologist greens = Οικολόγοι Πράσινοι.