Ekathimerini.com -The Greek Letter : The pre-election political activity and more...

 

Going up the country[InTime News] Constantine CapsaskisNewsletter Editor Welcome to the weekly round-up of news by Kathimerini English Edition. The flurry of pre-election political activity continued unabated this week as political leaders and parliamentary candidates have been racking up travel miles to hold rallies and meet with citizens across the country. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the leader of main opposition party SYRIZA seem to have both settled on a strategy of emphasizing touring regions in which their respective parties have failed to gather traction rather than conducting “victory laps” in safe areas. Mitsotakis visited the city of Patras and the suburbs of Piraeus, both considered SYRIZA bastions, the swing region of Ilia, and the Ionian island of Cephalonia that in previous elections returned a strong center-left vote. The prime minister is also set to visit Irakleio on Crete that SYRIZA won by 13 points in 2019, as well as the island of Evia where the government is set to face difficulties following the destructive fires in 2020. Similarly, Alexis Tsipras has prioritised northern Greece in which SYRIZA was handed a significant electoral blow in the 2019 elections following the signing of the Prespes Agreement with North Macedonia. He visited the city of Serres, home of the Karamanlis political family and a bulwark of New Democracy, as well as Grevena and Kozani. Fellow political aspirant and traveller Nikos Androulakis, leader of center-left PASOK, published a list of 12 priorities for his party including the further support of the National Health System, investments into public education, raising pensions and wages, and full transparency in Greece’s public administration. Spotlight This week also saw a political tussle between PASOK and SYRIZA over the legacy of PASOK founder and former prime minister Andreas Papandreou. Following the presentation of SYRIZA’s “Contract for Change” program, Androulakis reacted by calling Tsipras a grave robber for stealing the mannerisms and language of Papandreou. Tsipras responded that Papandreou belongs to history and not a political party. At the same time, SYRIZA and the Greek Communist Party have also found themselves at loggerheads over the use of a slogan dating back to the 1952 elections. Despite calls for unity and alignment by SYRIZA, the parties of the center-left and left seem to remain divided.   On the other side of the political spectrum, there was also a lot of activity on the far-right as the Supreme Court prohibited a number of far-right parties from participating in the upcoming elections , including that of convicted former Golden Dawn member Ilias Kasidiaris. Other blocked (for technical reasons) right-wing parties include Patriotic Union, party of former ND lawmaker Konstantinos Bogdanos, and Patrida led by Afroditi Latinopoulou. The result of the court’s decision is expected to have significant implications as New Democracy can benefit from fewer parties entering parliament as it lowers the threshold for an overall majority. At the same time, the parties on the right will find themselves jostling for the voters whose parties were left off the ballots with Kyriakos Velopoulos’ Greek Solution sensing an opportunity to capitalize on the court’s decision. MUST READS Populist promises won’t bring about a modern education systemGo to article > The algorithm of the ballotGo to article > The critical month of MayGo to article > OPINION Tom EllisEditor-in-Chief, Kathimerini English Edition A coalition? When and with whom? The possibility of forming a coalition government after the May 21 elections, thus avoiding a second ballot in July, has entered the political discourse as the latest polls show New Democracy recovering some lost ground and winning with a percentage high enough to allow for the formation of a two-party coalition with PASOK. In ND they anticipate getting up to 36%, with SYRIZA falling under 30%. The latter’s strategists see a tighter race with the main opposition trailing the ruling party by 3%. Still, this prospect remains a long shot as ND and PASOK would need almost 47% of the votes. Maybe more importantly, not everyone is keen on seeing such a scenario through. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for one, prefers a strong showing in the first election but not enough to have a majority in parliament with PASOK, in order to have a plausible rationale for taking the country to another election where the power balance will be better for his party. He is convinced that in a second election New Democracy will be able to form a single party government, and even if forced to enter into a coalition with a junior partner, it will do so from a position of strength compared to the May elections. This will be the case because in July ND will certainly get more votes and, due to the different electoral law that grants the winner a bonus, also many more seats in parliament. On the other hand, as the discussion about potential coalitions has become the main issue of the pre-election period, the aim of centrist PASOK seems to be that if it is to enter into a coalition it would be better to do so after the first poll instead of the second, as in the latter its percentage will be smaller and its comparative position weaker. Despite the analyses above, lately in interviews and public comments Mitsotakis had distanced himself from PASOK and its leader, insisting on ND achieving an absolute majority and avoiding the compromises that will be needed in order to form a coalition if his party falls short of the majority. Last, but definitely not least, there is also an alternative scenario for New Democracy: either working with the far-right Greek Solution or just absorbing the necessary number of deputies from other parties, if the ruling Conservatives fall short of a majority by just a few seats. CHART OF THE WEEK Three manuscripts that had been stolen from a monastery in northern Greece in 1917 were found during renovations carried out to a New York auction house. The documents were given by Swann Auction Galleries to Archbishop Elpidophoros of America during a ceremony held at the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in New York. The manuscripts were taken from the monastery along with hundreds of other valuables and manuscripts by 60 armed men who carried away the loot on 24 mules. Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios filed a lawsuit against Princeton University in 2018 demanding the return of four manuscripts held by its library, with the university rejecting claims that the documents were among the stolen items. The case is ongoing.   ESCAPADE 7 Springtime Ideas to Connect with Nature in Athens Desperate to escape the concrete jungle? These seven activities will get you closer to nature without having to drive (too) far away from the city center. Go to article > ECONOMY IN A NUTSHELL “The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index climbed over the 1,100-point mark again this week after it closed at 1,111.24 points on Friday, up 2.41% from last week. The growth was primarily spurred by favorable first-quarter results announced by listed companies.” “Hellenic Defense Systems (EAS) is expected to receive approximately 60 to 80 million euros in funding from the European Defense Fund to increase production of 155mm projectiles that will be supplied to Ukraine. This injection is expected to not only strengthen Greece’s defense industry but also raises prospects of a substantial modernization.” “A bank lending survey published by the Bank of Greece for January-March recorded a decrease in demand for loans with the rise in interest rates expected to further slow down demand for business loans by small and medium-sized enterprises in Q2. This is because the higher cost of money is predicted to discourage borrowing.” WHAT'S ON THE AGENDA 10/05/2023Televised Debate: The leaders of Greece’s political parties will meet for a televised debate ahead of the upcoming elections. 11/05/2023Political leaders in central Greece: Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will visit the city of Volos in central Greece, SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras will be nearby in Larissa, while MeRA25 leader Yanis Varoufakis will be in the town of Trikala. 11/05/2023European Union Military Committee: The European Union Chiefs of Defense will meet to discuss common security issues. Editor's PickThe upcoming vote should serve as an opportunity to awaken the ethnic Greek leadership [in Albania], which is called upon to set aside personal agendas in order to regain the lost trust of the diasporaStavros TzimasRead the article PODCAST 06/05/2023 • 10:36Can Greece become an educational hub?A topic that has gained particular attention over the last years, as was highlighted at the Delphi Economic Forum at the end of April, is Greece’s effort to become a global education hub. Alexis Phylactopoulos, the President of College Year in Athens (CYA) – the oldest and largest study abroad institution in Greece, joins Thanos Davelis to explore why Greece is in a unique position to become meet this goal. We’d like to hear from youShare your feedback at newsletters@ekathimerini.com Did you receive this email from a friend?Subscribe to our newsletters here NEWS   ECONOMY   OPINION   SOCIETY   CULTURE   SPORTS   IN DEPTH Kathimerini English Edition is published as a single paper with the International Edition of NYTimes     Kathimerines Ekdoseis Single Member SA, Ethnarhou Makariou Avenue & 2, D. Falireos Street, Piraeus 185 47, Greece You’re receiving this email because you signed up for news and updates from ekathimerini. Manage your email preferences or Unsubscribe from all future emails. Copyright © 2023 Kathimerines Ekdoseis All rights reserved.

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