Time
November 8, 2010
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou read triumph in the results of the regional elections Sunday, Nov. 7, that put his center-left PASOK Party's candidates ahead in several regional races, including the powerful position of Attica governor. "The Greek people have reaffirmed they want change," Papandreou said on state-run NET TV on election night.
His ebullience was a far cry from last week, when the quiet but stubborn Premier threatened to dissolve Parliament and call for new elections if PASOK fared badly. The vote of confidence was tepid at best, since only about 60% of 10 million eligible voters cast ballots, a relatively low turnout for Greece. But it kept the country on its planned austerity course, at least for now. To keep his support from crumbling in the coming months, Papandreou must show both worried Greeks and skeptical international markets that the bitter reforms will save the country from bankruptcy and move it toward a more solvent future.
"A lot of people are bleeding, if you will, from these measures, and a lot more people will bleed," says Kostas Ifantis, a political-science professor at the University of Athens. "We have never experienced anything like this before as a country, so there's no road map, and people want to see that these sacrifices will mean real reforms."
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