Greece: Tsipras fights for political life in election

(Vatican Radio) Former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was fighting for his political life today, as Greeks voted for the third time this year.  Tsipras called the snap election last month after a near-disastrous split in his leftwing Syriza party.

Listen to the report by John Carr: 

Up to the last minute, polls have shown Tsipras and his main challenger, Vangelis Meimarakis of the conservative New Democracy party, neck and neck with about 30 percent each.  That’s not enough for either to form a government, so Greece’s smaller parties hope to act as kingmakers.

The usual Greek election fever has been lacking.  This is because many believe there’s little to choose between Syriza and New Democracy, both of which support the third bailout that Tsipras signed in July.  Many voters are also angry at capital controls, which were imposed on Tsipras’s watch and have savaged high-street businesses.

The migration and refugee crisis has cast its shadow over the election, with the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party almost certain to place third, reflecting public fears of an inundation of Muslims.

The vote-counters here in Athens are expected to have a definite result well before midnight when, by all accounts, the political horse-trading will begin.