November 8, 2010
Greece's ruling Socialists survived a key test of their popularity on Sunday, winning a narrow victory in local elections that were widely seen as a referendum on the government's harsh, three-year austerity program.
With Socialist candidates winning in a majority of Greece's 13 electoral regions and in three of the country's five biggest cities, the government is now less likely to proceed with snap national elections, a threat it had dangled before voters but one that had unsettled the country's financial markets and drawn veiled criticism from Greece's international lenders.
In nationally televised remarks, Prime Minister George Papandreou said voters had backed the government's program and gave no hint that he planned to call early elections after just 13 months in office.
"We know that change is not an easy process," Mr. Papandreou said. "But the Greek people brought us to power one year ago to effect that change. And today they confirmed that they still want that change."
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