Greek Government Extends Lead In Tight Local Elections
By Nick Skrekas and Alkman Granitsas
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
ATHENS -(Dow Jones)- Greece's ruling Socialists appear to have extended their slim lead in a majority of regional races and the country's two largest municipalities amid very tight races, as record numbers of Greeks stayed away from the polling booths in Sunday's second runoff round of local elections.
With 11 out of 13 regions and about 221 municipalities up for grabs, the ruling Socialist party's popularity and legitimacy with voters is again being tested.
According to the country's Interior Ministry and their assigned research logistics firm Singular Logic, with about 20% of the vote counted, ruling Socialist candidates were ahead in eight of Greece's 13 electoral regions. However, the outcome of four regional elections are so close that predictions are on the border of statstical errors and could change in a matter of hours. In the key region of Attica, where half the Greek population lives, the socialist candidate is extending his lead over his main conservative rival to 52.6%. In the second largest region of Central Macedonia the conservative candidate is, as expected, likely to post a comfortable win.
Meanwhile, in the country's largest municipality of Athens, a traditional bastions for the conservatives, there is a accelerating swing to the socialists candidate which has a lead of 51.6%, even if it may not be determinative.
And in an election thus far characterized by upsets from incumbent municipal powers, the conservatives look likely to pull off a surprise win in the port city of Piraeus.
But in Greece's second largest city of Thessalonica, there appears to be a growing momentum by a maverick socialist that could overturn traditional center right dominance of the municipality's long standing centre-right administration.
The elections come amid widespread voter discontent and are seen as a referendum on the Socialist government's harsh, three-year austerity program agreed with the International Monetary Fund and the European Union, which has been heavily criticized by the opposition, center-right New Democracy party.
The level of abstentions has significantly surpassed last Sunday's historic record high of 39% and will surpass 50% in a country where voting is compulsory. In some areas it is the lowest on record since the fall of the military junta in 1974 when democracy was restored to Greece.
Voters appear to have turned their back on the whole political system, putting into question the mandate of more than just the ruling Socialists.
Last Sunday, the ruling PASOK party just edged out the main conservative New Democracy party with a two percentage-point lead nationwide.
Private research polls show that this lead may have widened in the second round to about four percent, even if this is down sharply from the socialists 10% winning margin in last October's national elections.
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