Two new parties enter Greek political fray as European and local elections loom
- 10 years ago
As Greece prepares for local and European elections, traditionalists fear that profound voter disaffection could result in a completely unrecognisable political landscape.
In Greece a country of massive debt, high unemployment and low wages people are furious, cynical and desperate for a change.
Two new political parties have entered the fray to try to fill the void, the centrist To Potami led by journalist Stavros Theodorakis is one.
To Potami is currently hitting around 7.7 percent in opinion polls:
“People in Greece wanted a change, if you look at the opinion polls before To Potami
Party appeared, the first party was not New Democracy or Syriza, the first party was “nobody”. Forty percent of the population was saying that there is no one to vote for. So its logical that To Potami party is attractive,” said the leader:
Another is the centre-left Elia party they are slightly down on To Potami attracting around 7 percent in the polls.
Elia Party member Paschalis Agandis: “Now more than ever people have lost the impression that the European Union is a system that can provide prosperity for everyone. Today Europe is seen as a threat that creates insecurity, and the issue is how can we change that impression? The only way is by having different views.”
If both parties poll to their potential they will have a role to play, both at home and in Europe.
But as the political and social atmosphere in Greece is so volatile, how long will it be before the new brush becomes an old broom?
In Greece a country of massive debt, high unemployment and low wages people are furious, cynical and desperate for a change.
Two new political parties have entered the fray to try to fill the void, the centrist To Potami led by journalist Stavros Theodorakis is one.
To Potami is currently hitting around 7.7 percent in opinion polls:
“People in Greece wanted a change, if you look at the opinion polls before To Potami
Party appeared, the first party was not New Democracy or Syriza, the first party was “nobody”. Forty percent of the population was saying that there is no one to vote for. So its logical that To Potami party is attractive,” said the leader:
Another is the centre-left Elia party they are slightly down on To Potami attracting around 7 percent in the polls.
Elia Party member Paschalis Agandis: “Now more than ever people have lost the impression that the European Union is a system that can provide prosperity for everyone. Today Europe is seen as a threat that creates insecurity, and the issue is how can we change that impression? The only way is by having different views.”
If both parties poll to their potential they will have a role to play, both at home and in Europe.
But as the political and social atmosphere in Greece is so volatile, how long will it be before the new brush becomes an old broom?