Greek pro-bailout parties set for ruling majority

[HiPointDem]

Parties committed to Greece's bailout were on course to secure a parliamentary majority on Sunday and the radical leftists who had vied for first place conceded defeat in an election that could keep the debt-laden country in the euro zone.

An official projection released by the interior ministry showed conservative New Democracy taking 29.5 percent, with the radical leftist SYRIZA bloc just behind on 27.1. The PASOK Socialists were set to take 12.3 percent of the vote.

Because of a 50-seat bonus given to the party which comes first, that result would give New Democracy and PASOK 161 seats in the 300-seat parliament, in an alliance committed to a 130 billion euro ($164 billion) EU/IMF bailout keeping the country from bankruptcy.

PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos called for a government that would include SYRIZA, but the radicals ruled out joining a coalition that would stick to the punishing bailout terms that have helped condemn Greece to five years of record recession.

http://news.yahoo.com/polls-open-greek-vote-could-decide-fate-euro-050833935.html

[IamK]

1. Commies finish a close 2nd.... n/t

[BOG PERSON]

7. SYRIZA aren't commies

they're post-marxist, post-maoist, post-modern, ecologist, feminist, etc.

[IamK]

8. yes they are....

they include the former KAO.. Communist Organization of Greece, RED Party, international workers left, renewing communist ecological left and various other left wing parties... hence their name....

[BOG PERSON]

11. i have to disagree

SYRIZA is something else... maybe they are the left-of-left-of-center party? i just don't know how any communist party worthy of the name would support the continued existence of the EU as well as their nation's continued participation in it.

[socialist_n_TN]

12. Worker's Power considers them to be a left centrist party.......

or maybe grouping would be more accurate. Sort of like the Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries during 1917 in Russia.

They are not truly revolutionary, although they're close enough that some elements could BECOME revolutionary given time and circumstances. There's another party to the left of Syriza and I can never remember the name, but their anacronym is the Greek word for mutiny. They're revolutionary, ergo not centrist, but they're also very small. And of course there's the KKE. I'm not sure what to consider them nowdays.

[leftstreet]

14. No they aren't. KKE is the Greek Communist Party n/t

[DCBob]

2. Seems to me with a vote this close the SYRIZA party should have some influence.

I suspect the bailout will still go forward but there might be some modifications to the "master plan" down the road. I think at some point the Greeks will have to dump the EURO to survive.

[RB TexLa]

3. How about if they dump the Euro, they get dumped by EU members of NATO? Sounds fair to me.

[socialist_n_TN]

10. That might be good. They could disband the military......

which takes a good chunk of public revenues and use working class militias as defense forces. This would allow more money to go to the people and their needs.

Hmm. Might be a good model for the entire world.

[RB TexLa]

13. And be left with no allies and no military of their own? Yeah, smart.

I'm saying if they are attacked, Europe says "so what," as a response.

[kenny blankenship]

4. So far, PASOK has maintained it will not join a coalition w/o Syriza in it.

Syriza is sticking to its pledge not to join in a government with ND. ND will have to fish in far right waters for their coalition partners, if both PASOK and Syriza hold their position.

Austershitty really hits the fan in about a month and a half. Two elections ago, Syriza polled 4%. In May it won 16%. Now it's polling 27%. The more people see of austerity, the more they vote Syriza.

So we could be back again and watching another Greek election in just a few months.

[DCBob]

6. Interesting turn of events..

However, I suspect in the end they will come to some agreement. Probably just political posturing.

[siligut]

5. Good news

Staying with the Euro is the wisest course.

This is something to worry about, these ultra-right parties just lurk, waiting for unrest and opportunity.

The ultra-right Golden Dawn party looked set to win 18 seats, underscoring the fragmentation of a society wrestling with unemployment of almost 23 percent and plummeting living standards.

[socialist_n_TN]

9. This is a political game being played between PASOK and Syriza.........

PASOK wants to protect it's left flank by co-opting Syriza into going along with austerity and Syriza wants no part of ANY government that wants to impose any further austerity on the Greek people. This COULD (who really knows?) screw up the projected austerity coalition. Round 3 anyone?