November 4, 2010
Greek voters go to the polls Sunday in fraught local elections widely seen as a referendum on the government's tough austerity program. Poor results could force the ruling Socialists to call new nationwide polls after only a year in office.
In the past two weeks, Prime Minister George Papandreou has said he would seek a fresh mandate for his government if voters don't back his party's candidates Sunday—a prospect that has unsettled the country's financial markets and drawn veiled criticism from Greece's international lenders.
The elections come amid growing discontent over the government's harsh economic measures and as Greek authorities deal with a spate of mail-bomb attacks by a leftist extremist group that has targeted leaders and institutions across Europe. On Thursday, Greek police charged two men in connection with the terrorist plot, and intercepted a 14th booby-trapped parcel in the capital.
Voters who already have endured a grinding, two-year economic slump now worry that the recession and the current austerity measures will continue for months to come with no immediate signs of recovery.
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