February 22, 2012
Support for Greece's two pro-bailout parties has sunk to an all-time low, but pollsters predict the squabbling rivals will still scrape through upcoming elections with enough seats in parliament to push through the reforms demanded by lenders.
With Greece finally clinching a 130-billion-euro rescue package to avert a messy default, attention is slowly shifting to elections due in April - with financial markets and European partners nervously waiting to see whether a new government will swallow the bitter austerity pill prescribed in return for aid.
Backing the austerity steps has cost Greece's two biggest political parties dearly. Their ratings have plunged as ordinary Greeks reeling from tax hikes and wage cuts blame them for the country's slide to the brink of bankruptcy.
"We want elections now, we want change. These guys have taken it all from us, it's time for new faces," said Panagiotis Arsenis, a 65-year old public sector pensioner. "They've ripped us off. Who will stand up for us now?"
But an election system that favors big parties and a likely rebound by the currently leaderless Socialists of PASOK suggest that the conservative New Democracy party and PASOK will ultimately find themselves with little alternative but to renew their current uneasy coalition.
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