Greece Lurches to Left Amid Radical Austerity
A radical austerity drive has triggered the biggest political upheaval in Athens since the end of the military dictatorship in 1974. So far, it is leftist parties who have benefitted the most from the debt crisis. The deeply divided left, however, would likely be unable to form a stable coalition.
The political system is in its greatest turmoil since the end of the Greek military dictatorship in 1974. And the political establishment is in free fall. According to surveys, the parties that benefit most from the crisis are those on the left, traditionally strong in Greece, which also include Tsipras's SYRIZA coalition.
Public Issue, a polling firm, estimates SYRIZA's approval rating at 12 percent, and that of Kouvelis's Democratic Left at 18 percent. The Communist Party of Greece (KKE), the oldest party in the country, stands at 12.5 percent approval. Combining the approval ratings of these three leftist parties would theoretically yield 42.5 percent, enough to form a government, even without PASOK, the socialist governing party of former Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou. Since winning the 2009 election with 43.9 percent of the vote, PASOK has now dropped to an 8-percent approval rating -- one of the biggest declines European election experts have ever seen.
Even if the pollsters say that the answers are changing more quickly than they can ask the questions, the trend is the same among all polls conducted by the major opinion research institutes: the two-party dominance of PASOK and ND, which have divided up the cabinet seats and perks for almost 40 years, is over. An election will be held in April, although the exact date has yet to be determined. Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to think that a united left could win the next election and ensure a stable parliament starting in the late summer. The Greek left is deeply divided.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,816598,00.html