2015-09-19 09:00:00

Greece prepares for national election


(Vatican Radio)  Greece is set to head to the polls on Sunday after ex-Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resigned last month and called for snap elections.

Listen to John Carr's report:

Twenty-four hours from now Greeks go to the polls for the third time this year, this time to choose between the left-wing Syriza party of ex-Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the conservative New Democracy party under its new leader, Vangelis Meimarakis.

According to the polls, both parties are in a dead heat at about 30 percent, though some give Tsipras an edge in the closing days of the campaign. Few commentators here in Athens believe either party will gain a governing majority, which would be a recipe for days or possibly weeks of uncertainty.

The neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party is expected to place third, which reflects growing public unease at the uncontrollable flow of migrants into the Greek islands and the severe strain on infrastructures.

Tsipras is battling charges of inconsistency after signing Greece’s third bailout deal – a move which split Syriza last month.  Meimarakis of New Democracy, on the other hand, is promising to revive the present severe business slump which he blames on Tsipras’s mishandling.

Abstention tomorrow is expected to be high, as many Greeks, weary of three national polls in a year, and with capital controls still in force in the banks, say they don’t believe either side.








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