Two cheers for democracy

Ioannis Kapodistrias, first Κυβερνήτης, governor, of the new Greek state in 1827, assassinated in Nafplion in 1831

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past month, you’ll know that this Sunday sees a snap general or legislative election across Greece, sparked by the failure by parliament in late December to elect a President. Those eligible to vote – and controversy surrounds the government’s continuing refusal to allow the sizeable Greek diaspora postal votes from abroad – will be voting for representatives of the regional units of Greece. Skopelos is administered by the Magnesia regional unit of Thessaly region. Skopelitans Giorgos Anagnostou, of the KKE, and Spyros Lemonis, of Syriza, will be standing in Magnesia.

A number of other controversies attend the election. According to To Vima newspaper, more than 100,000 young first-time voters will not be registered to vote in time. They would have been included in the annual February registration, but the constitution requires that parliament be dissolved within ten days (the vote was December 29) and elections held immediately if no President is elected. To Vima believes this was a deliberate ploy to bar unpredictable youth voters.

Meanwhile, over at Korydallos jail, Greek Reporter notes that fun-lovin’ neo-Nazis Golden Dawn are planning their election campaign from their cells, where they face charges of running a criminal organization, accused of killing Greek rapper Pavlos Fyssas in 2013 and numerous other charges, including the slightly surreal one of people trafficking.

As Sunday approaches, and with Syriza’s lead over Nea Demokratia slipping to 2.5 per cent in one poll, attack adverts are rolling out from some quarters. Statistics suggest that unless one party achieves a clear majority there will be horse-trading between the winner, which is awarded a bonus 50 seats in parliament, and other parties over a coalition government. The big question is how a coalition might be formed by either frontrunner. Golden Dawn and the new independent party To Potami (The River), formed just last year by journalist Stavros Theodorakis, have both polled at around seven per cent in recent weeks, with the KKE a point or so behind. Former prime minister and PASOK leader George Papandreou threw his hat into the ring on January 2 with the launch of his new party, Kinima Dimokraton Sosialiston (Democratic Socialist Movement). Depending on the winner, outliers could find themselves invited to join the big desk in Syntagma. The estimable The Press Project website is keeping tabs on the hijinks in the run-up to the election, which the Protothema website estimates will cost the state 45m euro.

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